Bangladesh tribunal convicts Sheikh Hasina of crimes against humanity, calls for ‘maximum punishment’
The three-member tribunal also pronounced its judgement against Hasina’s two aides, former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, over the same charges. Mamun was produced before the tribunal.
The tribunal, while pronouncing the verdict, observed that the accused deserved the “maximum punishment” for crimes against humanity after prosecutors sought the death penalty.with the mayor of South Dhaka Municipal Corporation. Forensic examination deemed the CD and recording genuine.
The tribunal also observed that Hasina had ordered the killing of protesting students, noting that records of her conversation with the Dhaka University VC were available.
The judge remaked that Hasina had undermined the student movement, noting that she had referred to Dhaka University students as “Razakar” and that her remarks further enraged protesters.He said that on the night following 14 July 2024, Hasina spoke to university vice-chancellor and said, “I have hanged Razakars, they [protesters] will also be hanged. None of them will be spared,” adding, “I am ordering their arrest and action.”
The judge further stated that Hasina, the former home minister and the ex-police chief had acted jointly to kill and suppress the protesters.Hasina and Khan face charges of crimes against humanity for the killing of hundreds of people during a student-led uprising in July and August of 2024. The United Nations in a February report said up to 1,400 may have been killed in the violence, while the country’s health adviser under the interim government said more than 800 people were killed and about 14,000 were injured. BothAs the tribunal was set to convene Monday morning, the former ruling party called for the shutdown again, with Hasina in an audio message urging her supporters not to be “nervous” about the verdict. Hasina has survived at least 19 assassination attempts during her decades-long political career since 1981.
The verdict comes amid local media reports that new explosions of crude bombs in Dhaka, including one in front of the house of an adviser, equivalent to a Cabinet minister, on Sunday.Meanwhile, Dhaka’s police chief Sheikh Mohammad Sazzat Ali issued a “shoot-on-sight” order if anyone attempts to torch vehicles or hurl crude bombs. The directive came as nearly 50 arson attacks, mostly targeting vehicles, and dozens of explosions of crude bombs have been reported nationwide over the past week. Two people were killed in the arson attacks, local media reported.
Authorities at the Supreme Court, in a letter to army headquarters on Sunday, requested the deployment of soldiers around the tribunal premises ahead of the verdict. The prosecution said the tribunal’s deliberation of the verdict could be broadcast live on the state-run Bangladesh Television
The tribunal also found that Hasina made hate speeches and, in a phone call with an aide named Shakeel, asked him to kill 226 people linked to cases filed against her.
The chief judge of the (ICT-BD) observed that Hasina had ordered the use of helicopters, drones and lethal weapons against protesters, a directive revealed in her conversation