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Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
‘She should answer for what she did': Trial begins of ex-Bangladeshi leader for crimes against humanity
Rakib Hossain was just 11 years old when, standing innocently on the streets of Dhaka in July last year, he was killed by a bullet to the head – fired allegedly by the police Hossain was one of more than 1,400 men, women and children killed in Bangladesh 's so-called July revolution, when hundreds of thousands across the country rose up in protest against the country's leader, Sheikh Hasina. Her attempts to crush the mass movement included deploying heavily armed police, who – with shoot-to-kill orders – fired live ammunition at civilians on the streets. Ultimately, the crackdown was unsuccessful and Ms Hasina was forced to flee Bangladesh in a helicopter on August 5th last year, as angry protesters marched towards her residence and the military refused to forcefully stop them. Now, just over a year since Rakib was killed, the trial of Ms Hasina will begin on August 3rd, as she stands accused of being responsible for the death of the 11-year-old and many others over those weeks. After months of evidence gathering, Bangladeshi prosecutors have charged her with crimes against humanity, including charges of order, incitement, complicity, conspiracy, and abetment of murder, torture and other inhuman acts. Her trial will be held before three judges of Bangladesh's international crimes tribunal (ICT); a court that Ms Hasina set up herself while in power. Ms Hasina will not be there. Since last August, she has been in India despite protests by the interim government leading Bangladesh. Multiple extradition requests for Ms Hasina have been ignored. With the possibility she would be given the death penalty if found guilty, few believe Ms Hasina will come back voluntarily. She has refused to be part of the proceedings except to plead not guilty, and has been given a state-appointed defence lawyer as she is being tried in absentia. In the days leading up to the trial, efforts have been made by Ms Hasina and her Awami League party to discredit it and the tribunal, denying the charges and claiming they had received no formal legal notices of them. In an open letter published on Friday, Ms Hasina described the protests that toppled her as a 'violent interruption of our hard-fought democracy' and promised to 'reclaim the institutions that were unlawfully seized'. Sheikh Hasina during her time as Bangladeshi prime minister in 2023. Photograph: Atul Loke/The New York Times Rakib's father, Abul Khayer, spoke of his anger that Ms Hasina would not be present in court. 'I want to see Hasina tried in person,' he said. 'She should face the families and answer for what she did. But India won't give her back. Everyone knows that.' A year since his son was killed, Mr Khayer said his grief had hardened into disillusionment and he expressed doubts that the tribunal would deliver true justice or accountability. After the toppling of Ms Hasina , a wave of optimism gripped Bangladesh, as an interim government led by Nobel prize-winner Muhammad Yunus was brought in with sweeping promises of democratic reform and accountability. But faith in the interim government has faded over the past year as many of the promised reforms have failed to materialise and Mr Yunus has struggled to bring the deteriorating law and order situation and attacks against minorities under control. With the country's first elections since the fall of Hasina due in February, Mr Khayer feared the trial would become politicised. 'Everyone has seen in the past how most often these kinds of cases have been used to gain political scores,' he said. 'The trials are dragged for years to serve people's political ambition.' Still, he insisted the trial should still go forward, if only to document the truth. 'I don't need her to sit in a dock to know what she did. She gave the orders. Everyone knows that. Let the world hear it.' For the many who saw their relatives and friends killed last July, the trial is a vital first step towards justice. While some senior government ministers and police officials were arrested, many in Hasina's regime fled the country and remain abroad. In an effort to make the trial as transparent as possible, much of it will be live streamed on television, except for moments where sensitive witnesses are testifying. Protesters call for prime minister Sheikh Hasina to resign during a demonstration in Dhaka, Bangladesh in August, 2024. Photograph: Munir Uz Zaman/AFP via Getty Images It is also just the beginning. Investigators are still working on bringing Ms Hasina to trial for other atrocities allegedly committed during her 15 years in power, including enforced disappearances and the killing, torture and mass incarceration of opponents and critics. Mohammad Tajul Islam, the chief prosecutor of the ICT, said the prosecution and investigation agency of the court had been 'working relentlessly' since September to find witnesses and gather evidence to bring Hasina to trial. He described it as a 'very challenging task, particularly because destruction of evidence and the involvement of a huge number of perpetrators'. Islam noted that some allegedly involved remained in positions of power, often making victims and witnesses reluctant to come forward. He said he was confident that the prosecution had a strong case to prove crimes against humanity were committed by Ms Hasina. Among the key witnesses will be her former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah al-Mamun, who has already pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against the former prime minister. While some have questioned whether Bangladesh's judicial system – which was systematically eroded under Ms Hasina – was capable of conducting a free and fair trial for Ms Hasina, Mr Islam said reforms had brought the ICT in line with international best practices. 'It is critical for accountability and the rule of law, and also for the victims who seek justice,' he said. 'Her intended absence from the trial should not shield her from justice.' Mohammad Arafat, who served as a senior minister in Ms Hasina's government and is also facing charges, called the tribunal a 'political show trial'. 'The Awami League categorically rejects the politically motivated charges brought against its leadership,' he said. 'I urge the international community to recognise this tribunal for what it is: a tool to criminalise political opposition and rewrite lawful governance as criminality.' Mubashar Hasan, a political scientist who was forced into exile after he was abducted and tortured and is now a researcher at Western Sydney University, was among those who said that in an 'ideal scenario' Ms Hasina would instead be put on trial at the international criminal court in The Hague. The Yunus-led interim government has already banned the Awami League party from taking part in the elections expected early next year, but critics have said this undermines the democratic nature of the polls, given that Awami League is still one of the country's largest parties. The election is expected to be swept by the Bangladesh Nationalist party, whose leadership suffered years of persecution under Ms Hasina. Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, the Islamist party which was banned under Ms Hasina, is also expected to do well, which has raised concerns about the rise of Islamic hardliners undermining the country's secular foundations. — The Guardian
The Irish Sun
9 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
How world's most depraved killers tortured victims & injected bleach in testicles before dumping bodies in acid barrels
PRIZING open the first of six barrels stored at a disused bank vault, in Snowtown, South Australia, detective Gordon Drage expected to find fertiliser used to grow illegal cannabis. But, after releasing a stomach-churning stench he discovered the vats contained something far more horrific - the dismembered remains of multiple murder victims. 19 John Justin Bunting was convicted for his role in the grisly killing spree and sentenced to life imprisonment Credit: Getty Images 19 Robert Joe Wagner was also arrested after police found eight hacked up bodies stuffed in barrels Credit: AP 19 The remains of up to six people were discovered in a disused bank vault in Snowtown, a small village near Adelaide Credit: Reuters And the chilling find, in 1999, led police to uncover Australia's Over a period of seven years, twelve people had been tortured, murdered, decapitated and dismembered, their bodies left to rot in barrels or Meanwhile their killers, led by psychopath John Bunting, profited from their victims by selling their possessions and withdrawing their benefit payments. Bunting, described as a "charismatic" leader who made his victims call him "God", "Master" or "Sir Lord" during vile torture sessions, recruited a gang of followers to assist in his heinous crimes - including a stepson who helped to murder his own siblings. What makes these crimes all the more shocking is that many occurred while Bunting and his followers were under active police surveillance. Now the killing spree is revisited in a new Crime+Investigation documentary, Bodies in the Barrels, with interviews from the detectives and scientists who were first to uncover the horrific scene in Snowtown. Forensic psychiatrist Richard Furst explains that Bunting, who had a pathological hatred towards gay people, drug users and paedophiles, would use the trauma of abuse victims to manipulate them into doing whatever he wanted them to do. Forensic psychiatrist Richard Furst says: 'This crime sequence is quite unusual in that a lot of the victims were known to Bunting and his followers. Most read in The Sun "The recruitment and victim selection very much fitted what he was projecting, which was the hatred towards paedophiles, hatred towards gay people. 'I think there is a charisma that you might see in a lot of cults. People within a cult, do things because there's a greater motive, and they have a sense of belonging and allegiance.' Chilling position missing girl's body was found in as new details on heartbreaking final days with 'killer' dad revealed Killer squad 19 Robert Joe Wagner, John Justin Bunting and Mark Ray Haydon were all suspects in the killing spree which found between six and 12 bodies in acid vats Credit: Getty 19 The exterior of the bank in Snowtown where police discovered the bodies in vats stored in the vault Credit: News Pictures 19 Gordon Drage, a Former Forensic Officer, originally thought the smelly barrels contained fertilised water for cannabis plants Credit: Crime+Investigation John Bunting had had a trouble childhood, wasn't academic and had a fixation with killing animals and dropping insects into acid. One of his first jobs was as an In the 90s he lived in the marginalised, working-class suburbs of Adelaide, Australia, where he recruited a faithful flock of acolytes. They fancied themselves as righteous In fact, most of their victims were not paedophiles, but loners and outcasts. Bunting would invent excuses to justify his bloodlust, and with the assistance of his friends, conspire to steal the government benefits of those they monstrously tortured and murdered. His first accomplice was the easily manipulated Robert Wagner who had a troubled childhood and had been the The next key player Bunting met was Elizabeth Harvey who he soon moved in with. She perceived John Bunting as some sort of white knight, a saviour, if you like Jeremy Pudney She too was vulnerable. Her husband had died, but her children had also suffered abuse at his hands. He essentially became step-father to her children, one of whom was James Vlassakis, who Bunting took under his wing. James hero-worshipped him. Local journalist Jeremy Pudney says: 'She perceived John Bunting as some sort of white knight, a saviour, if you like." Journalist Peter Overton adds: 'But Bunting wasn't a saviour for this vulnerable family he was their downfall. "He would soon groom them and manipulate them into committing the Twisted torture chamber In 1994 , two farmers discovered a It would take several years for police to discover that the body belonged to John Bunting's first victim - Clinton Tresize - who had been bashed to death with a shovel after being invited into his home, two years earlier. His second victim was a man called Ray Davies who came to Bunting's attention after he exposed himself to children in the neighbourhood. In late 1995, he was ambushed, handcuffed, dragged into a car and driven to the house Bunting shared with Elizabeth Harvey. Bunting, Harvey and Wagner tortured Ray Davies with jump leads and beat him to death. Over the next four years, more and more people disappeared from Adelaide's north and investigators began to link these missing persons cases, suspecting foul play may have been afoot. Several of the bodies had ropes around their necks, others had gags in their mouths Forensic pathologist, Roger Byard In August 1999, the trail led to Snowtown, South Australia, a desolate and dusty hamlet which is little more than a battered collection of rundown buildings on the side of a highway. Officers investigating five of the missing had been watching three suspects and were following a suspicious four wheel drive vehicle that had been under surveillance. When they got to the address where the car was, they were told by a resident that it had been driven there by John Bunting and it had smelly barrels in it. When asked what was in them, John Bunting claimed they were the carcasses of dead 19 Clinton Tresize, John Bunting's first victim Credit: News Ltd 19 Barry Wayne Lane's body was found in the abandoned State Bank building in Snowtown Credit: News Pictures 19 Elizabeth Audrey Haydon was also found in the abandoned State Bank Credit: News Pictures Police discovered that the barrels were now in a disused bank across town. Former detective Gordon Drage says: 'At that stage, we had no suspicion of there being bodies at the bank we thought it was going to be a drug crop, we suspected that the smelly liquids was probably going to be fertilised water for his cannabis crop growing inside the vault.' But when they got inside the bank their investigations took a sinister turn - on top of the six barrels were saws, handcuffs and used rubber gloves. A cheap couch, containers of hydrochloric acid and a machine which delivered electric shocks were also found. I think there is a charisma that you might see in a lot of cults people within a cult, do things because there's a greater motive, and they have a sense of belonging and allegiance Forensic psychiatrist, Richard Furst The police officers gingerly opened a barrel. Gordon Drage says: 'Only then did the smell come out. This was not hydroponics. That smelled very much like dead bodies.' In the first barrel, a human foot was found at the top, so they drove all six to the forensics lab in Adelaide. Forensic pathologist Roger Byard says some of the bodies were whole, others had been dismembered and all of them gave clues as to how they had reached their grisly end. 'There were handcuffs and thumb cuffs. There were plastic bags, rubber gloves they'd been using when they were dismembering the bodies. Several of the bodies had ropes around their necks, others had gags in their mouths.' Hand-picked victims 19 The murders took place in a poor neighbourhood and people were largely unemployed or on pensions Credit: Getty 19 The victims had their benefit payments withdrawn and properties sold Credit: Getty 19 Richard Furst, a Forensic Psychiatrist, doesn't believe the defrauding of the victims was a reason for killing them Credit: Crime+Investigation As police looked into the bodies from the bank vault, a full picture of Bunting's depravity began to emerge. On the wall of his home, the cold-blooded killer had a spider chart of potential victims. Some of the information had been provided by paedophile Barry Lane who had abused his accomplice Robert Wagner. Soon Lane was deemed surplus to requirements and was also tortured, beaten and murdered by Bunting, Wagner and a new accomplice Thomas Trevilyan, with his body taped up and left lying on the floor. When Trevilyan found it difficult to cope with what he had done and started speaking out, he too was murdered - with his death staged to look like suicide. But as well as sick brutality, there was also greed behind the killings. The killers would sell the Richard Furst adds: 'It was a poor neighbourhood and people were largely unemployed or on pensions, but I don't think the defrauding of the victims was a reason for "But I think it was certainly a factor in selection. I think it was the issue of a double reward. So you kill someone, but you also get money, regular income from that, and they kept on going to withdraw money from the account.' So you kill someone, but you also get money, regular income from that, and they kept on going to withdraw money from the account Forensic psychiatrist, Richard Furst Jeremy Pudney adds: 'One of the reasons this was able to go undetected for so long is some of these victims were really isolated from their families for whatever reason, didn't have many friends. And sadly, people didn't really notice when they went missing, so this is a story of how Another victim was a woman called Suzanne Allen who had had relationships with both Ray Davies and Bunting himself. When that affair ended she became a target. Despite Bunting and Wagner never being convicted of Suzanne Allen's murder, her body was found 19 Suzanne Allen and Ray Davies were buried in a shallow grave in Bunting's garden Credit: 19 Frederick Brookes was just 18 Credit: Supplied 19 Roger Byard, a Forensic Pathologist, said some of the bodies were whole while others had been dismembered Credit: Crime+Investigation The barrels in Snowtown bank Killing was easy for Wagner and Bunting, but disposing of the bodies was another matter. And this is when they recruited Mark Haydon. He had become friends with Bunting and between them they cooked up the plan to store the By 1997, police had begun investigating the disappearance of Bunting's first victim Clinton Tresize. And the group of fairly inept murderers brought together by Bunting were soon on the police radar. 19 Karen Davies, the sister of Ray Davies who was killed by Bunting, Harvey and Wagner Credit: Crime+Investigation 19 The film crew interviewed John McCready, a shop owner in the Snowtown area Credit: Crime+Investigation Cops soon discovered that missing Barry Lane's benefits were still being withdrawn. So they set up a security camera at the cashpoint and spotted Robert Wagner making the withdrawals. At first police thought they were dealing with a few missing people who had possibly had their benefits plundered. But they still had no idea there was a Incredibly, in the 16 months after the case became a missing persons and potentially a murder investigation, eight more people were killed by the gang. And the murders became more frequent and more sadistic. At least one of them had a firework sparkler put into his penis, in the urethra Forensic pathologist Roger Byard Forensic pathologist Roger Byard says: 'At least one of them had a firework sparkler put into his penis, in the urethra. There was there were stories of having the scrotum injected with bleach, of being electrocuted, of having their toes squashed with pliers.' Soon Bunting brought his stepson James Vlassakis into the murder team - encouraging him to help in the killing of his own half brother Troy. He was beaten, dragged from his bed and handcuffed before having his toes crushed with pliers. He was then strangled. Frederick Brookes, who was just 18 and the son of accomplice Jodie Elliott, was handcuffed and tortured for hours, and his genitals electrocuted, before choking on a gag. The next victim was disabled local Gary O'Dwyer, tortured for hours and recorded, pleading for his life. Bunting and Wagner then murdered Elizabeth Haydon, the wife of their accomplice Mark Haydon, attacking her in her own home before gagging and strangling her. It was her disappearance that made police realise this was a much more 19 Court sheriffs lead accused murderer, Robert Wagner, from the old bank Credit: Getty But incredibly the watch wasn't 24/7, and it was during one of the blank spots that the pair murdered another of Vlassakis' step-siblings, David Johnson. Lured to the bank in Snowtown by his stepbrother, Johnson was murdered in May 1999, before Bunting and Wagner cooked and ate a piece of his flesh. This was to be the last murder the killers committed. Days later, the investigators finally stumbled on the horrific scene in Snowtown and arrested Bunting, Wagner and Haydon in dawn raids. James Vlassakis later handed himself into police, consumed with guilt about what he had done. His interviews brought police to further victims, and revealed a whole new depravity to Bunting and Wagner's crimes. Wagner was convicted of ten murders. Bunting, the ringleader was convicted of 11. They were both given a mandatory life sentence meaning they will never be released. Read more on the Irish Sun James Vlassakis confessed to four murders and was jailed for life. Mark Haydon was convicted for his role in disposing of the bodies, but was released from prison last year under a supervision order after serving almost 25 years behind bars. Bodies in the Barrels premiers on Crime+Investigation and Crime+Investigation Play from Sunday 3 August at 9pm. 19 Detectives, scientists and reporters who were first on the scene are tell their stories as part of a new Crime+Investigation documentary, Bodies in the Barrels Credit: Crime+Investigation
The Irish Sun
a day ago
- The Irish Sun
Chilling wolf map shows ferocious beasts prowl Brit holiday hotspots after boy, 6, snatched from mum by infamous ‘Bram'
FEROCIOUS wolves are prowling British holiday hotspots as the number of the predators continues to grow. It comes after a six-year-old boy was 8 A wolf bares teeth as he is attacked by a wolfhound Credit: Reuters 8 The terrifying moment a wolf attacked a young boy in a snow-covered Russian park Credit: East2west News 8 Picture shows rogue wolf named Bram who is suspected to be behind the dangerous attack on the six-year-old Credit: Animal Rights Netherlands 8 The child suffered , which required stitching - and was found with multiple scratches and abrasions on his body. The tot went for a walk with his mum and younger brother in the Dutch province of Utrecht when they saw an animal running towards them. At first, Mum Nynke, 41, thought it was safe for her children to play with what appeared to be a friendly dog from a distance. It was only when the wild wolf jumped on the boy and dragged him into the woods, the mum realised the danger. read more news Passers-by in the tourist hotspot Den Treek nature reserve then rushed to save the boy from the wolf's jaws. The terrified mum told Locals suspect that a rogue wolf named Bram was behind the dangerous attack. Bram, who is officially designated GW3237m, is reportedly on a death sentence for attacking other people and dogs in the region. Most read in The US Sun Parents of boy, 3, mauled to death by devil dogs facing jail after they 'let him wander into pen unsupervised' Just a few weeks ago, the lone wolf bit a female hiker twice on the leg at the Den Treek estate near Leusden A court permitted the province of Utrecht to shoot the wolf dead, saying it poses a threat to the people, the According to the court, the risk of serious injury to people is 'so severe' that the wolf must be culled. Recent wolf attacks on pet dogs, livestock and even children have sparked uproar across Europe. Wolf populations have continued to grow due to the predators being protected under the Bern Convention in EU law. But this also means there has been an increasing contact with humans. Chilling figures released in June show the number of wolf attacks on sheep and other livestock is at an all-time high. In the first three months of 2025 in the Netherlands, 368 attacks on animals were recorded, compared to a much lower 266 the year prior. 8 Warning signs on how to handle a wolf encounter are placed at the entrances of the nature estate Credit: Alamy 8 A pack of European grey wolf seen in Germany's Bavaria 8 Emile Soleil, 2, vanished in the French Alpine hamlet of Le Vernet last July, with locals fearing he was killed by wolves The Central European lowlands population of wolves currently sits at between 780-1030 wolves. And our map shows how the Dinaric-Balkan region are having to deal with the highest number of the beasts - roughly 4,000. The wolf-ridden region of mountains covers holiday hotspot destinations like northeastern Italy, Croatia, Slovenia and Albania. Wolves may also prowl Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia, as well as the northwestern part of Kosovo. Central European lowlands are also having to grapple with between 780 to 1030 wolves. Meanwhile the Alps and areas of Italy are dealing with up to 3,000 of the beasts. The EU law was modified in March of this year, however, shifting the protection status of wolves in Europe from "strictly protected" to "protected". This change grants member states more flexibility in managing the ever-growing wolf populations. The remains of a little two-year-old boy named Emile Soleil were found in a forested ravine last year with a bite mark on his skull France . Cops said that little Emile's remains were found outside of the hamlet Le Vernet almost eight months after the tod mysteriously disappeared from Alpine village. A few locals believed at the time that Another boy was attacked by a rogue wolf in a snow-covered Russian park a few years ago. Shocking video shows the However, according to the WWF, wolves in Europe don't pose a threat to humans. The animal charity says that scientific evidence has proved that wolves don't treat humans as prey, with fatal encounters being exceptional. 8 The Red Wolf (Canis rufus) is the worlds most endangered canine Credit: Getty
