Dhaka :Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal on Monday said the charges against the country’s ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina are serious and observed that she deserves maximum punishment for crimes against humanity during the uprising in the country last year.
The three-member tribunal will also pronounce 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.
Prosecutors have sought the death penalty for the accused.
Hasina, 78, faces multiple charges arising from the mass uprising that forced her out of office in August 2024. A UN rights office report estimates that up to 1,400 people were killed between July 15 and August 15 during the “July Uprising” as her government ordered a sweeping security crackdown.
Hasina and Kamal were declared fugitives and tried in absentia, while Mamun initially faced trial in person before turning approver.
Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam has described Hasina as the “mastermind and principal architect” of the alleged atrocities during the protests. Her supporters maintain the charges are politically motivated.
The tribunal concluded hearings on October 23 after 28 working days, during which 54 witnesses testified about the state’s response to the student-led movement that toppled Hasina’s government on August 5, 2024.
Hasina fled Bangladesh the same day amid intensifying unrest and has since been residing in India. Kamal is also believed to have taken refuge in India. The interim government led by Muhammad Yunus has sought Hasina’s extradition, but India has yet to respond (PTI )
Sheikh Hasina found guilty; stares at death sentence
