Hasina gets six months in jail
Hasina has been facing multiple cases since she fled to India after deadly student-led protests in August, but it was the first time the former leader was sentenced in one of them.
Shakil Akand Bulbul, a leader of the Awami League party's banned student wing Chhatra League, was also sentenced to two months in prison in the same case, Chief Prosecutor Muhammad Tajul Islam told reporters.
The party had been led by Hasina for years. A three-member ICT tribunal, led by Justice Golam Mortuza Mozumder, delivered the verdict in their absence, noting that the sentences will take effect upon arrest or surrender, the prosecutor added.
The contempt charges stem from a leaked phone recording where Hasina was allegedly heard saying, "there are 227 cases against me, so I now have a licence to kill 227 people."
A forensic report by a government investigative agency later confirmed the audio's authenticity. The ICT was originally set up in 2010 by Hasina's own government to try 1971 war crimes.
Bangladesh's interim administration, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, pledged to hold leaders, including Hasina, accountable for rights abuses and corruption, including the crackdown on the student-led uprising last July that toppled Hasina's regime.
The tribunal has so far issued three arrest warrants for Hasina, including charges of crimes against humanity linked to the July violence.
Hasina's Awami League party remains banned while trials continue against the party and its former leaders.
Supporters of Hasina dismiss the charges as politically motivated, but the interim government insists the trials are crucial for restoring accountability and rebuilding trust in Bangladesh's democratic institutions.
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Hasina's conviction
Listen to article The sentencing of Bangladesh's deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina to six months in prison for contempt of court marks the first step towards punishing her for her authoritarian rule and violent suppression of dissent that eventually led to her downfall. Hasina has been living in India as a state guest since fleeing Dhaka last August. It is worth noting that India has an extradition treaty with Bangladesh, and the conviction should mean Dhaka can now secure Hasina's repatriation, although India's current government has a long record of failing to honour its international commitments. Hasina's conviction for contempt and interference in judicial proceedings is based on a leaked audio recording in which she appears to be vowing to kill everyone who had filed cases against her. But the six-month conviction pales before the other 200-plus cases facing the former premier. The highest counts are equivalent to crimes against humanity and carry life sentences. Over 1,400 people were killed after Hasina ordered law enforcement to brutally put down the protests that eventually led to her ouster. Hasina, her family, and close allies also face corruption charges amounting to billions of dollars, with several credible accusations, such as a bridge project that was so tainted that the World Bank withdrew its funding. The corruption charges even affected the British government, with Hasina's niece, a UK minister, having to resign after allegations that she received improper gifts and other benefits from Hasina and her Awami League, though British authorities have cleared her. Revelations since Hasina's departure show that she held the courts in the same contempt that she held democracy, but there has still been valid international criticism of the closed nature of the trials and investigations. Potentially putting a former PM behind bars should not be taken lightly, and the Bangladeshi government should ensure that the investigations and trials of Hasina are beyond reproach to ensure that neither she nor her allies can ever claim political victimisation.
Express Tribune
3 days ago
- Express Tribune
Hasina gets six months in jail
Bangladesh's ousted and self-exiled Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was sentenced to six months in prison by the country's International Crimes Tribunal on Wednesday in a contempt of court case, a top prosecutor said. Hasina has been facing multiple cases since she fled to India after deadly student-led protests in August, but it was the first time the former leader was sentenced in one of them. Shakil Akand Bulbul, a leader of the Awami League party's banned student wing Chhatra League, was also sentenced to two months in prison in the same case, Chief Prosecutor Muhammad Tajul Islam told reporters. The party had been led by Hasina for years. A three-member ICT tribunal, led by Justice Golam Mortuza Mozumder, delivered the verdict in their absence, noting that the sentences will take effect upon arrest or surrender, the prosecutor added. The contempt charges stem from a leaked phone recording where Hasina was allegedly heard saying, "there are 227 cases against me, so I now have a licence to kill 227 people." A forensic report by a government investigative agency later confirmed the audio's authenticity. The ICT was originally set up in 2010 by Hasina's own government to try 1971 war crimes. Bangladesh's interim administration, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, pledged to hold leaders, including Hasina, accountable for rights abuses and corruption, including the crackdown on the student-led uprising last July that toppled Hasina's regime. The tribunal has so far issued three arrest warrants for Hasina, including charges of crimes against humanity linked to the July violence. Hasina's Awami League party remains banned while trials continue against the party and its former leaders. Supporters of Hasina dismiss the charges as politically motivated, but the interim government insists the trials are crucial for restoring accountability and rebuilding trust in Bangladesh's democratic institutions.
Express Tribune
3 days ago
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Bangladesh court sentences former PM Hasina to six months for contempt
Listen to article Bangladesh on Wednesday convicted fugitive ex-prime minister Sheikh Hasina of contempt of court and issued a six-month prison sentence in absentia, the first verdict since she was ousted last year. Hasina, 77, fled to neighbouring India at the culmination of the student-led uprising in August 2024, and has defied orders to return to Dhaka. "She will serve the sentence the day she arrives in Bangladesh or surrenders to the court," chief prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam told reporters after the court decision. The case centred around comments that prosecutors said she had made after she was ousted from power, which they said threatened witnesses in ongoing court hearings. Read More: Hasina denies crimes against humanity "The prosecution team believes her comment created an aura of fear among those who filed the cases and among the witnesses," Islam said. Shakil Akanda Bulbul, a fugitive leader of her now-banned Awami League, was sentenced to two months in prison in the same case. Up to 1,400 people were killed between July and August last year, according to the United Nations, when Hasina's government ordered a crackdown on protesters in a failed bid to cling to power. In a separate ongoing trial that began on June 1, prosecutors say that Hasina held overall command responsibility for the violence. Her state-appointed defence lawyer said she has denied the multiple charges that amount to crimes against humanity under Bangladeshi law.
