Latest news with #AsaduzzamanKhanKamal
Mint
3 days ago
- Politics
- Mint
Bangladesh indicts Ex-PM Sheikh Hasina on mass murder charges; trial broadcast on live television
Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) on Sunday formally indicted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and two others on multiple charges, including mass murder, in connection with thier alleged violent crackdown on student-led protests that rocked the nation last year. A three-judge bench of the ICT took cognizance of the charges after prosecutors accused Hasina and her former colleagues of using brutal force against protesters. 'We do hereby take into cognizance the charges,' the three-judge ICT bench said, reported PTI. The tribunal's proceedings, broadcast live on national television for the first time in the country's history, mark the beginning of Hasina's trial in absentia — nearly ten months after her ouster. The court also issued fresh arrest warrants for Hasina and former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal. The third accused, former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, is in custody and will stand trial in person. Sheikh Hasina has been charged with exercising unchecked authority to violently quash the protests, while Kamal and Mamun face accusations of instigating, abetting, and facilitating the crackdown, as per PTI. All three were accused of superior command responsibility for the crimes. Chief Prosecutor Tajul Islam went a step further, urging the tribunal to declare Hasina's Awami League a criminal organisation, claiming the violence was orchestrated on partisan lines. If convicted under the ICT-BD law, the accused could face the death penalty. The trial's start was briefly delayed after three crude bombs were hurled at the tribunal's gates early Sunday morning. Two exploded, while the third was defused. Police are reviewing CCTV footage to identify and arrest the perpetrators. Sheikh Hasina, ousted on August 5, 2024, following the widespread unrest, now faces multiple cases in Bangladesh. A previous arrest warrant led the interim government to formally request her repatriation from India via diplomatic channels. New Delhi has acknowledged the request but has not issued a response. According to a UN human rights report, the protests and subsequent violence between July 15 and August 15 in Bangladesh last year claimed the lives of approximately 1,400 people — including students, civilians, and police personnel.
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Business Standard
3 days ago
- Politics
- Business Standard
Sheikh Hasina charged with 'crimes against humanity' during 2024 protests
Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and two senior officials have been charged with 'crimes against humanity' by Bangladeshi prosecutors for their alleged roles during the mass protests in July 2024, which led to the ousting of the Awami League leader. The tribunal hearing was broadcast live on state-run BTV — the first such instance in the country's history. According to the Dhaka Tribune, Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) identified Hasina as the "key instigator" behind the mass killings that took place across the country in July and August last year. In addition to Hasina, former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Chowdhury Mamun have also been named as co-accused. On 12 May, investigators submitted a report alleging that Hasina had ordered the killings. ICT Chief Prosecutor Tajul Islam claimed that more than 1,500 individuals were killed, over 25,000 injured, and countless others subjected to torture and other inhumane treatment, The Daily Star reported. Hasina is already facing two additional cases filed with the ICT: one concerning her alleged role in enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings during the Awami League's tenure, and another related to the deaths during the 2013 Hefazat-e-Islam rally at Shapla Chattar in Motijheel. What happened in Bangladesh in July 2024? The unrest was triggered by a Supreme Court decision on 5 June 2024 that reinstated a 30 per cent quota in civil service jobs for descendants of 1971 Liberation War veterans, overturning a 2018 executive order that had abolished such reservations. Many students viewed this as a barrier to merit-based employment, particularly amid high youth unemployment. Initially peaceful demonstrations at Dhaka University and other campuses turned violent following a harsh government crackdown. The situation escalated into what became known as the 'July Massacre', with estimates of over 1,000 deaths. On August 5, 2024, following continued unrest and international pressure, Hasina resigned and fled to India. An interim government was established, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus.
Hans India
3 days ago
- Politics
- Hans India
Former Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina charged with crimes against humanity
Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been formally charged with crimes against humanity by the country's International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) over her alleged role in the violent nationwide uprising of July 2024, according to local media reports. The charges, which were made public on Sunday, mark a significant turn in the political landscape of Bangladesh, as the trial of the exiled former leader began with live television coverage. Alongside Hasina, former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and former Inspector General of Police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun have also been named co-accused in the case. The tribunal, in its Sunday session, received a formal submission of charges from prosecutors who claimed Hasina was the central figure responsible for instigating the mass violence that engulfed the country during July and August last year. Leading Bangladeshi daily, The Dhaka Tribune, reported that an investigation report submitted on May 12 identified Hasina as having "directly ordered" the killings. The findings allege that she instructed state security forces, members of her political party, and affiliated organisations to execute brutal crackdowns against the growing wave of anti-government protests. "These killings were planned," said Chief Prosecutor of Bangladesh's ICT Mohammad Tajul Islam, during the high-profile televised hearing. He presented video recordings and encrypted communications as evidence, claiming they establish Hasina's orchestration of a "coordinated, widespread and systematic attack." According to the prosecution, Hasina, then serving as the head of government, bore command responsibility for the violent actions carried out by security forces under her leadership during the peak of the unrest. "She unleashed all law enforcement agencies and her armed party members to crush the uprising," Tajul Islam told the tribunal. This development comes weeks after the interim government, currently led by Muhammad Yunus, banned all activities of the Awami League -- Hasina's party -- under the Anti-Terrorism Act. The mass protests, initially sparked in early 2024 by student-led demonstrations opposing a controversial job quota system, quickly morphed into a widespread movement demanding Hasina's resignation. By August 5, facing intense pressure, Hasina stepped down and fled to New Delhi, where she has remained in self-imposed exile. In October 2024, the ICT issued an arrest warrant against her and formally requested her extradition from India.
South China Morning Post
3 days ago
- General
- South China Morning Post
Bangladesh trial accuses fugitive ex-PM Hasina of organising ‘systematic attack' on protests
Fugitive former prime minister Sheikh Hasina orchestrated a 'systemic attack' on protests against her government, Bangladesh i prosecutors said on Sunday at the opening of her trial over the deadly crackdown. Advertisement 'Upon scrutinising the evidence, we reached the conclusion that it was a coordinated, widespread and [a] systematic attack,' Mohammad Tajul Islam, chief prosecutor at Bangladesh's domestic International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), told the court in his opening speech. 'The accused unleashed all law enforcement agencies and her armed party members to crush the 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. Advertisement
Arab News
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Bangladesh investigators say ousted PM behind deadly crackdown
DHAKA: Bangladesh's former prime minister Sheikh Hasina masterminded a deadly crackdown on mass protests that prompted her ouster last year, prosecutors at a domestic war crimes tribunal said Monday. Up to 1,400 people died in July 2024 when Hasina's government launched a brutal campaign to silence the opposition, according to the United Nations. Hasina lives in self-imposed exile in India, where she fled by helicopter, and has defied an arrest warrant from Dhaka over charges of crimes against humanity. 'The investigation team has found Sheikh Hasina culpable in at least five charges,' Mohammad Tajul Islam, chief prosecutor at Bangladesh's domestic International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), told reporters. 'They have brought charges of abetment, incitement, complicity, facilitation, conspiracy, and failure to prevent mass murder during the July uprising.' Tajul Islam said the prosecution had submitted its first report to be presented at the court set to try Hasina and two of her aides — former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and ex-police chief Abdullah Al Mamun. 'Sheikh Hasina directly ordered law enforcement agencies and auxiliary forces aligned with her party to kill and maim, and to burn corpses and even people who were still alive at certain points,' he added. The ICT was set up in 2009 by Hasina to investigate crimes committed by the Pakistani army during Bangladesh's war for independence in 1971. 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. Bangladesh's interim government on Saturday banned Hasina's party, the Awami League, pending the outcome of the trial. The decision was taken to ensure the country's 'sovereignty and security' as well as the safety of the protesters, plaintiffs and witnesses of the tribunal, Asif Nazrul, a government adviser on law and justice, told reporters. Bangladesh has requested India to extradite her but has not yet received a response.
