Bangladesh To Open Trial Of Former PM Sheikh Hasina Today
Bangladesh:
Bangladesh will open the trial on Sunday of fugitive former prime minister Sheikh Hasina on charges of crimes against humanity related to the killings of protesters by police, prosecutors said.
Hasina, 77, fled by helicopter to her old ally India in August 2024 at the culmination of a student-led mass uprising that ended her 15-year rule, and has defied an extradition order to return to Dhaka.
"The prosecution team ... is set to submit charges against former prime minister Sheikh Hasina," said Gazi MH Tamim, one of the prosecutors.
Up to 1,400 people were killed between July and August 2024 when Hasina's government launched a brutal campaign to silence the protesters, according to the United Nations.
The domestic International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) is prosecuting former senior figures connected to the ousted government of Hasina and her now-banned Awami League party.
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 expected to be broadcast live on state-owned Bangladesh Television.
Prosecutors submitted their report into the case against Hasina last month with the court on Sunday expected to open proceedings by issuing formal charges.
ICT chief prosecutor Tajul Islam said on May 12 that Hasina faces at least five charges, including "abetment, incitement, complicity, facilitation, conspiracy and failure to prevent mass murder during the July uprising".
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.
Hasina remains in self-imposed exile in India and has defied an arrest warrant and extradition orders from Dhaka to face trial in person.
She has rejected the charges as politically motivated.
The same case is also expected to include former interior minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun. They face similar charges.
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.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Gazette
40 minutes ago
- India Gazette
Bangladeshs top court lifts ban on largest Muslim party
The Jamaat-e-Islami party was outlawed by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasinas government for its role in war crimes against Bangladeshis in 1971 Bangladesh's top court on Sunday reversed a previous ruling that paves the way for Jamaat-e-Islami, an Islamist party that was banned by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government, to regain its status as a registered political party. The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court overturned a High Court judgment from 2013 that had declared Jamaat's registration as a political party illegal, local media reported, citing the order. The court also directed the election commission to officially reinstate the registration of Jamaat, thereby enabling it to contest elections, including at the national parliamentary level. Jamaat's registration was revoked through politically motivated public interest litigation, and Sunday's verdict has ensured that a multi-party democratic and participatory parliament is established, lawyers for the party were quoted as saying. The party was an active anti-liberation force during Bangladesh's 1971 Liberation War as a result of which the country gained independence from Pakistan. Its registration with the election commission was canceled in 2013, following a lengthy legal process. In August 2024, days before the Awami League government led by Hasina was ousted from power, it banned all activities by Jamaat and its student wing, Islami Chhatra Shibir, under anti-terrorism laws. The Hasina government held Jamaat responsible for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity committed during the 1971 war, as per the verdicts of several cases delivered by the International Crimes Tribunal set up specifically to try those accused of war crimes. Days after taking power following Hasina's ouster, the interim government headed by Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, reversed the earlier decision and lifted the ban on the political activities of the party and affiliated organizations. Sunday's ruling by the Supreme Court comes amid ongoing political instability in Bangladesh, which, according to local media, stems from the reluctance of the Yunus administration to announce elections in the country. In a separate development, the same International Crimes Tribunal that earlier convicted Jamaat leaders issued arrest warrants on Sunday for former Prime Minister Hasina and ex-Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, accusing them of crimes against humanity in connection with their alleged involvement in suppressing a major uprising in July 2024. The tribunal's ruling has cleared the way for Hasina to stand trial. Dhaka previously sent a diplomatic note to New Delhi requesting Hasina's return to face trial, to which the Indian government has not formally responded so far. (
India Gazette
40 minutes ago
- India Gazette
"Not trying to start a war, just conducting retribution for act of terror": Shashi Tharoor on Operation Sindoor
Brasilia [Brazil], June 2 (ANI): Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, who is leading the all-party delegation, said on Monday that the whole idea of Operation Sindoor was to signal that India is not trying to start war, but just conducting 'retribution for an act of terror,' in response to the Pahalgam terror attack. This comes during his interaction with Ambassador Celso Amorim, Head Adviser of the Special Advisory to the President of the Republic in Brasilia. 'The whole idea was to signal that we are not trying to start a war, we are just conducting retribution for an act of terror, which was a really vile act, 26 people being was horrendous and it was meant to do the maximum possible damage to India, to disrupt the Kashmiri economy, which was booming, to end the prospects of tourism flourishing in to perhaps create a communal backlash in India...,' Tharoor said. The Congress leader highlighted India's strong stance against terrorism, saying that they have come here to understand the understanding on the part of friends and countries that are not necessarily our friends. ' The reason we have come is very much to seek greater sympathy and understanding on the part of our friends, and also countries that are not necessarily our friend, but you are in the high friend category, for the situations in the recent months in particular the really serious attack on country by terrorists in Kashmir...I must say that, seeing the statement by Brazil, we were also very touched by President telephoning our PM, personally, to express his concern and was no action to bring the perpetrators to justice and even to look for them in finally govt decided to send a strong a message...,' Tharoor further said. Tharoor talked of Pakistan's pressure to remove references to TRF, a front for LeT, in UN Security Council press statement on April 25. TRF had claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam terror attack. '...LeT (Lashkar-e-Taiba) has created this front called Resistance Front, we have been reporting about Resistance Front to UN Sanctions Committee, time after India encouraged our friends on Security Council to mention the Resistance Front in the press statement that Security Council govt, I am sorry to say that with the support of your friend in China, took out the name, so there is not even a are not on the Security Council, neither are you. We have to change that situation. Both of us should be on the Council together,' he said. A group calling itself The Resistance Front (TRF) has claimed responsibility for the attack. This group is a front for the UN-proscribed Pakistani terrorist group, Lashkar-e-Taiba. Notably, India had given inputs about the TRF in the half-yearly report to the Monitoring Team of the UN's 1267 Sanctions Committee in May and November 2024, bringing out its role as a cover for Pakistan-based terrorist groups. Earlier too, in December 2023, India had informed the monitoring team about LeT and Jaish-e-Mohammad operating through small terror groups such as the TRF. Pakistan's pressure to remove references to TRF in the April 25 UN Security Council Press Statement is notable in this regard. On June 1, the delegation led by Tharoor was welcomed by Sandeep Kumar Kujur, Charge d'Affaires of the Indian Embassy in Brazil after landing there. The delegation is set to leave for United States tomorrow. (ANI)
India.com
an hour ago
- India.com
All about Ice Breaker, the stealth missile developed by Israel that could help India keep China, Pakistan under control
(Image: New Delhi: Pakistani terrorists killed 26 innocent civilians in Pahalgam on April 22 and India hit back with Operation Sindoor. Indian Armed Forces, especially the Indian Air Force (IAF) played a crucial role in the military conflict that lasted for four days and India achieved big success against Pakistan. Now, the Indian Air Force is pondering about getting Israel's stealthy air-launched cruise missile 'Ice Breaker'. In fact, some reports suggest that the IAF is evaluating the purchase and induction of the Ice Breaker in its fleet. During Operation Sindoor against Pakistan, the IAF used BrahMos missiles among others with a very high success rate. If India gets Ice Breaker, then it will further enhance its military might. Ice Breaker is a class apart for long-range precision strikes. If India gets it then China and Pakistan will not dare fool around. What is Ice Breaker? According to Rafael website, 'Ice Breaker is a long-range, autonomous, precision-guided weapon system enabling significant attack performance against a variety of high-value land and sea targets. The system – which is resilient to electronic countermeasures and fully operational in GNSS-denied arenas – uses an advanced, all-weather electro-optical IIR seeker with scene-matching and Automatic Target Recognition capabilities. 'It counters Integrated Air Defense Systems (IADS) with a low-level terrain following flight pattern above land, sea skimming above sea, VLO (Very Low Observable), and salvo attack capability. Compact and lightweight, Ice Breaker is suitable for jet fighters, light attack aircraft, and helicopters as well as small maritime vessels and ground vehicles.' The Ice Breaker uses a highly advanced electro-optical seeker that can detect targets in all weather conditions and it is equipped with artificial intelligence that helps it recognize targets and ensures it only engages hostile ones, thus keeping a check on collateral damage. The Ice Breaker flies at incredibly low level, almost touching the ground. Its design makes it very hard to detect. Thus it just zooms past even the most sophisticated air defenses. The Ice Breaker is very compact and lightweight, under 400 kg and one of its features includes smart engagement as it can work in a synchronized attack with multiple missiles which boosts its ability to penetrate well-defended targets.
