Bangladesh opens fugitive ex-PM's trial over protest killings
DHAKA: Fugitive former prime minister Sheikh Hasina orchestrated a 'systemic attack' to try to crush the uprising against her government, Bangladeshi prosecutors said at the opening of her trial on Sunday.Up to 1,400 people were killed between July and August 2024 when Hasina's government launched its crackdown, according to the United Nations.Hasina, 77, fled by helicopter to her old ally India as the student-led uprising ended her 15-year rule, and she has defied an extradition order to return to Dhaka.The domestic International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) is prosecuting former senior figures connected to Hasina's ousted government and her now-banned party, the Awami League.'Upon scrutinizing the evidence, we reached the conclusion that it was a coordinated, widespread and systematic attack,' Mohammad Tajul Islam, ICT chief prosecutor, told the court in his opening speech.'The accused unleashed all law enforcement agencies and her armed party members to crush the uprising.'Islam lodged charges against Hasina and two other officials of 'abetment, incitement, complicity, facilitation, conspiracy, and failure to prevent mass murder during the July uprising.'Hasina, who remains in self-imposed exile in India, has rejected the charges as politically motivated.As well as Hasina, the case includes ex-police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun — who is in custody, but who did not appear in court on Sunday — and former interior minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, who like Hasina, is on the run.The prosecution of senior figures from Hasina's government is a key demand of several of the political parties now jostling for power. The interim government has vowed to hold elections before June 2026.The hearing is being broadcast live on state-owned Bangladesh Television.Prosecutor Islam vowed the trial would be impartial.'This is not an act of vendetta, but a commitment to the principle that, in a democratic country, there is no room for crimes against humanity,' he said.Investigators have collected video footage, audio clips, Hasina's phone conversations, records of helicopter and drone movements, as well as statements from victims of the crackdown as part of their probe.The ICT court opened its first trial connected to the previous government on May 25.In that case, eight police officials face charges of crimes against humanity over the killing of six protesters on August 5, the day Hasina fled the country.Four of the officers are in custody and four are being tried in absentia.The ICT was set up by Hasina in 2009 to investigate crimes committed by the Pakistani army during Bangladesh's war for independence in 1971.It sentenced numerous prominent political opponents to death and became widely seen as a means for Hasina to eliminate rivals.Earlier on Sunday, the Supreme Court restored the registration of the largest Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami, allowing it to take part in elections.Hasina banned Jamaat-e-Islami during her tenure and cracked down on its leaders.In May, Bangladesh's interim government banned the Awami League, pending the outcome of her trial, and of other party leaders.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
9 hours ago
- Arab News
Trump says brokered India-Pakistan ceasefire on trade warning, threat of nuclear war
ISLAMABAD: President Donald Trump said this week he had brokered a ceasefire between India and Pakistan last month through a trade warning and because of the threat of the conflict spiraling into a nuclear war. Nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan reached an understanding to stop all military actions on land, in the air and at the sea on May 10 in a US-brokered ceasefire to end escalating hostilities that had spiraled alarmingly, threatening regional peace. The two sides used fighter jets, drones, missiles and artillery to attack each other in the worst fighting between them in decades, leaving around 70 people dead on both sides of the border. Speaking at the White House where he was hosting German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Trump said on Thursday he was 'proud' that he has been able to broker the truce. 'I spoke to some very talented people on both sides ... and I said, you know, we're dealing with you on trade, Pakistan and India right now. I said we're not going to deal with you on trade if you're going to go shooting each other and whipping out nuclear weapons that maybe even affect us,' Trump said. 'Because you know that nuclear dust blows across oceans very quickly, it affects us. 'And I said if you're going to do that, we're not going to do any trade deals, and you know what, I got that war stopped.' He credited the 'good and strong' leadership of both countries for backing off from the military confrontation. Since the ceasefire, Pakistan has repeatedly thanked Trump for his mediation during the crisis while India rejects it acted due to US pressure. Pakistan and India have a history of bitter relations and both countries have fought three wars, two of them over the disputed region of Kashmir. The latest military conflict between them was also triggered by a gun attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 tourists on April 22. India struck multiple Pakistani cities on May 7, blaming the April 22 attack on Pakistan. Islamabad denied any complicity in the assault and reciprocated with similar strikes against Indian military targets. A ceasefire was brokered on May 10 after both countries struck each other's air bases, airfields and other military facilities.
Arab News
a day ago
- Arab News
Pakistan appointed vice chair of UN Security Council's counterterrorism body
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan was appointed vice chair of the United Nations Security Council's Counter-Terrorism Committee on Wednesday, a move its officials described as international recognition of the country's efforts to combat militancy and engage constructively within the UN system. The committee, established in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks through Resolution 1373, monitors how UN member states implement counterterrorism measures. Pakistan was also named chair of the Security Council committee overseeing sanctions against the Taliban, and co-chair of two informal working groups, one on improving the Council's transparency and procedures and another on sanctions-related issues. 'These appointments represent an acknowledgment of Pakistan's active engagement with the United Nations system, including its constructive role as an elected member of the Security Council,' the mission said in a statement. 'They are also an international recognition of Pakistan's counterterrorism efforts.' Pakistan Appointed to Different Subsidiary Bodies of the UN Security Council United Nations, June 4, 2025— In a significant diplomatic development, Pakistan has been appointed as Chair of the UN Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1988 (2011), which… — Permanent Mission of Pakistan to the UN (@PakistanUN_NY) June 4, 2025 These developments come nearly a month after New Delhi targeted Pakistani cities following a militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 tourists. Indian officials blamed Pakistan for the assault, though the administration in Islamabad denied involvement and called for an 'impartial' international probe. The situation, however, escalated into a four-day military conflict before a US-brokered ceasefire was announced on May 10 by President Donald Trump. Pakistan has also said in the past it has been targeted by armed militant factions operating from neighboring Afghanistan and 'sponsored by India.' Both Kabul and New Delhi deny the charge, though Pakistan's presence on the Taliban sanctions committee could carry significance in this context. The Pakistani mission at the UN said it would work with other member states to help strengthen multilateral efforts against militant violence. Pakistan, which began its two-year term as an elected member of the Security Council in January, has advocated for greater inclusivity and equity in global governance institutions, including reform of the UN's working methods.
Arab News
2 days ago
- Arab News
Pakistan seeks IMF nod to sell surplus power to industry, agricultural sector
KARACHI: Pakistan is seeking the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) approval to supply surplus power to the industrial and agriculture sectors at an unsubsidized tariff of seven to 7.5 cents per unit, the country's power minister, Awais Leghari, said, according to an official statement on Wednesday. The once energy-deficient South Asian nation now boasts 7,000 megawatts of surplus electricity that it began generating with Beijing's help under the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a flagship project of President Xi Jinping's Belt and Road Initiative. 'We have been consulting with the IMF for the past six months to approve the scheme,' Leghari told a consultative meeting held in the federal capital Islamabad regarding Pakistan's transition from solar net metering to a net billing system. The government plans to generate as much as 60 percent of its power from renewable energy sources like solar, wind, hydropower and nuclear energy over the next five years to cut the cash-strapped country's oil import bill. 'There is no direct financial pressure on us [from the IMF],' the minister said, adding the move would balance the nation's supply and demand of electricity, strengthen the power system and benefit consumers. The Washington-based lender approved a $7 billion loan for Pakistan last year to help support export-led growth and is reviewing the government's budgetary plans for FY26, starting in July. According to the National Accounts Committee, Pakistan's economy is expected to expand by 2.7 percent during the outgoing FY25 due to lackluster agricultural and industrial performance. The power minister said the government, since June, has provided cross-subsidies of Rs 174 billion ($617 million) to industries, a measure that brought down industrial tariffs by 31 percent and significantly increased consumption. Under its ongoing energy reforms, the minister said, the government is considering various proposals, including changing the current solar net metering system into a more effective, transparent and sustainable model. 'The government is not abolishing net metering,' he continued, adding that its scope had expanded so significantly that it was now seriously impacting the national grid, thus requiring timely intervention. In the fast-solarizing Pakistan, net metering allows consumers to utilize the electricity generated by their in-house solar systems and send the surplus to the national grid at an agreed rate.
