Bangladesh tribunal begins former PM Sheikh Hasina's trial; proceedings aired live on national TV
Dhaka [Bangladesh], June 1 (ANI): Formal charges were filed on Sunday against the former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for crimes against humanity committed during the student-led uprising in the country in July-August 2024.
Incidentally, the trial is being conducted in Sheikh Hasina's absence and the Bangladesh state-owned broadcaster Bangladeshi TV (BTV) will air the proceedings live.
Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam filed formal charges at the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Dhaka.
Ironically, the tribunal was formed by Hasina to try crimes committed during Bangladesh's Liberation War in 1971.
The prosecution of the Bangladeshi International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) has pressed formal charges against Hasina, who had fled the country last year, in a case filed over their alleged crimes against humanity committed during the July mass uprising. As per the charges Hasina was the main mastermind behind the inhumane acts such as crimes against humanity, murders, and burning of bodies across the country during the movement to overthrow the government in 2024. These crimes were organized on her orders. She is the main instigator of the crimes, as per the charges.
Arrest warrants have also been issued against other members of Hasina's Awami League. Former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and former IGP Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun were named co-accused in the complaint submitted by Chief Prosecutor Tajul Islam to the ICT.
Hasina has defied an arrest warrant and extradition orders from Dhaka to face trial in person. She has rejected the charges as politically motivated.
A fact-finding committee of the United Nations Human Rights High Commission estimates that around 1,400 people were killed during anti-Sheikh Hasina protests in 2024. The Awami League has denied the allegations against Sheikh Hasina, saying that many of the protesters, police, and Awami League leaders and party activists were killed by the attacks of protesters.
Meanwhile, the Appellate Division of the Bangladesh Supreme Court on Sunday ordered the Election Commission to revoke Jamaat-e-Islami's registration as a political party.
During Sheikh Hasina's tenure, the government banned Jamaat-e-Islami. The Election Commission also cancelled the party's registration. The interim government lifted the ban on the Jamaat.
Jamaat-e-Islami opposed the independence of Bangladesh in the 1971 war of liberation. Sheikh Hasina's government tried Jamaat for war crimes. The interim government banned Awami League activities and began the trial of Sheikh Hasina.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted in a student-led uprising in August last year. She is now living in India on self-imposed exile. After Sheikh Hasina's fall, an interim government was formed under the leadership of Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus. (ANI)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Bangladesh: Political parties reject Muhammad Yunus's extended time frame, demand election by December
DHAKA: At least 20 political parties, including former PM Khaleda Zia's BNP, Monday rejected Bangladesh chief adviser Muhammad Yunus 's extended time frame for conducting national election, demanding it be held by Dec. Sources, however, said three political parties, including the radical Jamaat-e-Islami and NCP launched by Nahid Islam who led the anti-Sheikh Hasina movement last year, are reportedly supporting Yunus's time frame of holding the poll between Dec 2025 and June 2026. "There is not a single valid reason to push the national election after Dec and BNP expects a 'neutral role' from Muhammad Yunus in taking a final decision," BNP member Salahuddin Ahmed said after the National Consensus Commission dialogue with Yunus. This was the second round of talks between political parties and the Yunus-headed interim govt on the election - pending since last year following the fall of the Hasina-led govt. In Monday's meeting, all but three political parties have demanded elections by Dec, Gono Odhikar Parishad chief Nurul Haque Nur said. Yunus expressed optimism about finalising a broadly accepted 'July Charter' - an agreement built through collective understanding among parties after the ouster of the Hasina govt. Salahuddin hoped Yunus will consider Dec for conducting the election. He also argued the commission has already taken significant time and election before year-end remains feasible. "Full consensus may not be support reforms that benefit the nation and ensure inclusion of all," he added.
Hindustan Times
3 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
PM to meet delegations after world tour next week
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to meet the seven multi-party delegations, which are currently touring key international capitals to underscore India's zero-tolerance for terrorism and New Delhi's 'new normal' against the menace, sometime next week, people aware of developments said on Monday. According to the people cited above, the date for Modi's meeting is yet to be finalised but it might happen on June 9 or 10. Before the PM meets all seven delegations, they will debrief external affairs minister S Jaishankar in a process starting from Tuesday with the team led by Bharatiya Janata Party leader Baijayant 'Jay' Panda, the people added. Panda's delegation, which left Delhi on May 24, is set to be the first to return home after visiting Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Algeria. The meeting with Jaishankar is scheduled at 2.30pm on Tuesday. The delegation comprises BJP leaders Nishikant Dubey, Phangnon Konyak, Rekha Sharma, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi, nominated Rajya Sabha member Satnam Singh Sandhu, former minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, and former foreign secretary Harsh Shringla. The PM's decision to meet all the delegations is a significant step as top-ranking functionaries suggested that the main idea to send the teams across the globe after Operation Sindoor came from the PM. It will be the first interaction between the PM and the delegations, which began leaving Delhi on May 21. The multi-party delegations—comprising 59 lawmakers, in addition to former diplomats — have already covered a bulk of their itinerary of 33 countries, including the European Union. The leaders, briefed by foreign secretary Vikram Misri before leaving Delhi, have focused on exposing Pakistan's duplicity on combating terror by showing pictures of the country's army general attending funeral of terrorists killed during Operation Sindoor and the discovery of 9/11 accused Osama Bin Laden in Abbottabad, and underlined how repeated peace initiatives by New Delhi met with disappointment and more attacks, people familiar with the matter said. All seven delegations – headed by senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor; Bharatiya Janata Party leaders Ravi Shankar Prasad and Panda; Janata Dal (United) leader Sanjay Jha, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader Supriya Sule, and Shiv Sena leader Shrikant Shinde – have met parliamentarians, ministers, government officials and policy makers to exchange views on furthering cooperation on counterterrorism and combating radicalism, especially after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 civilians dead. The Indian delegations spoke about major terror attacks sponsored by Pakistan, how Islamabad refused to act even after New Delhi provided clinching evidence of photos, DNA samples and call records in the aftermath of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, and pointed out that all major international terror attacks including the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks and the 2005 London bombing had direct or indirect links to Pakistan, said the people cited above. Two of the delegations – one to Russia and another to Japan – concluded their visits on Saturday with 'constructive meetings', said the people cited above. Operation Sindoor was India's direct military response to the April 22 terror strike at Pahalgam in Kashmir that killed 26 civilians in what was the worst attack on civilians since the 26/11 Mumbai strikes. India launched the operation in the early hours of May 7, bombing nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The pre-dawn strikes --- which killed at least 100 terrorists --- sparked a series of attacks and counter attacks across the western border, involving fighter jets, missiles, armed drones, and fierce artillery and rocket duels. In one such counterattack on the night of May 9-10, the air force struck targets at 13 Pakistani air bases and military installations. After four days of fighting, military hostilities were stopped on May 10 as the two nations reached an understanding. The move to send political delegations abroad started on May 17, roughly a week after India and Pakistan agreed to an understanding to cease hostilities. In Algiers, Panda said that India's appeal to place Pakistan back on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list was gaining significant resonance globally, emphasising the role of illicit financing in fuelling terrorism. 'Pakistan is not interested in improving itself or helping its people... They have diverted the money for terrorism and its army and looted it... Terrorism is fuelled by two things. One is ideology and the other is illicit finance... Ideology-wise, these Islamic countries have taken a strong stand... They do not permit any kind of fundamentalism from their soil... Financing part is the other aspect,' Panda said. In Paris, former Union minister M J Akbar asserted India's clear and thought-through 'no first use' doctrine on nuclear weapons and said, 'Pakistan is a military state, it is no longer a civilian state. And a military state has a vested interest in conflict because conflict justifies its presence… Now, it sometimes thinks it can provide a nuclear shelter to terrorists. The Prime Minister (Modi) has made it very clear that there can be no nuclear blackmail.' In Tokyo, Trinamool Congress lawmaker Abhishek Banerjee said, 'If terrorism is a rabid dog, Pakistan is a vile handler…We are here to share the message and the truth that India refuses to bow down. We will not kneel to fear. I belong to a political party that is in the Opposition. It is in the public domain that I have said that Pakistan needs to be taught a lesson in the language they understand,' he said.
Time of India
4 hours ago
- Time of India
Pakistan's Punjab speaker backs Pahalgam attacker at rally
NEW DELHI: The line, ever so thin, between the Pakistani state and terrorists, is fast disappearing post-Operation Sindoor. Speaker of Pakistan's Punjab assembly, Malik Ahmed Khan, has now come out in defence of Lashkar-e-Taiba deputy chief Saifullah Kasuri, by attending a rally alongside the US-designated terrorist, and Talha Saeed, son of LeT chief Hafiz Saeed . Asked by reporters, the speaker of the assembly of Pakistan's biggest province brazened it out by saying Kasuri, one of the masterminds of the Pahalgam terror attack , should not be seen as an accused without an investigation. He also cited a personal connection to Kasur, the town where the May 28 rally was organised. The presence of Talha alongside Kasuri came to light when foreign policy circles were already discussing Kasuri and his jihadi comrades gloating over what they called their success in avenging the partition of Pakistan after its loss to India in the 1971 war. LeT ultras boast about revenge for 1971, mock 'Modi's missiles & bullets' Video footage from the rally showed Lashkar-e-Taiba deputy chief Saifullah Kasuri arriving with a posse of guards carrying American M4 carbines and being serenaded as the "conqueror" of India. Flower petals were showered on him. While addressing the gathering, the Lashkar terrorists boasted about their involvement in protests against former Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina, which forced her to flee and take shelter in India. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Own A Barrel of Whisky With Average Annual Returns of 10.15%* Whisky Investors Download Undo Kasuri and Muzammil Hashmi, both designated as terrorists by the US, claimed credit for their role in the coup during rallies organised last week. "We emerged victorious against you in Bangladesh last year," they said. Expectedly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been the target of hateful vitriol that marks proceedings of jihadi congregations. "Tum hamein apni goli se darate ho, Modi hum tujhe paigham dete hain, humare bachche teri missailon se nahi dare, hum teri goli se kya darenge (Modi, you scare us with your bullets, our children were not scared of your missiles, you think we are worried about your bullets)," Hashmi said during a rally by Pakistan Markazi Muslim League, the political front of Lashkar-e-Taiba, in Gujranwala on May 28. At another rally the same week, Kasuri drew parallels between the 1971 Bangladesh liberation war and recent events, stating that his group had avenged the past defeat. "I was four years old when Pakistan was dismembered in 1971. The then Indian PM Indira Gandhi had declared that she had drowned the two-nation theory in the khaleej (Bay of Bengal). On May 10, we took the revenge of 1971," Kasuri said while addressing his supporters in Rahim Yar Khan. He also referenced the brutal Indian air strikes on Muridke, which resulted in the death of fellow terrorist Mudassar, and expressed anguish over being barred from attending the funeral. "I was not allowed to attend his funeral. On the day of his funeral, I cried a lot," Kasuri said.
