Latest news with #Hasina-era
Business Recorder
3 days ago
- Politics
- Business Recorder
Bangladesh ex-PM accused of ‘systematic attack' in deadly protest crackdown
DHAKA: Fugitive former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina orchestrated a 'systematic attack' that amounted to crimes against humanity in her attempt to crush the uprising that toppled her government, Bangladeshi prosecutors said at the opening of her trial on Sunday. Up to 1,400 people were killed between July and August 2024 after Hasina's government launched its crackdown, according to the United Nations. Hasina, 77, fled by helicopter to her old ally India as the student-led uprising ended her 15-year rule and she has defied an extradition order to return to Dhaka. Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) is prosecuting former senior figures connected to Hasina's ousted government and her now-banned party, the Awami League. 'Upon scrutinising the evidence, we reached the conclusion that it was a coordinated, widespread and systematic attack,' ICT chief prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam told the court in his opening speech. 'The accused unleashed all law enforcement agencies and her armed party members to crush the uprising.' Islam lodged five charges each against Hasina and two other officials that included 'abetment, incitement, complicity, facilitation, conspiracy, and failure to prevent mass murder during the July uprising'. Bangladesh court begins first trial of Hasina-era officials Prosecutors say such acts are tantamount to 'crimes against humanity'. 'Not an act of vendetta' 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 did not appear in court on Sunday – and former interior minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, who is also on the run. 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 being broadcast live on state-owned Bangladesh Television. Prosecutor Islam vowed that the trial would be impartial. 'This is not an act of vendetta but a commitment to the principle that, in a democratic country, there is no room for crimes against humanity,' he said. Investigators have collected video footage, audio clips, Hasina's phone conversations and records of helicopter and drone movements, as well as statements from victims of the crackdown, as part of their probe. The prosecution argues that Hasina ordered security forces, through directives from the interior ministry and police, to crush the protesters. 'They systematically committed murder, attempted murder, torture, and other inhuman acts,' Islam said. Prosecutors also allege that security forces opened fire from helicopters after Hasina's directives. They also accused Hasina of ordering the killing of student protester Abu Sayeed, who was shot dead at close range in the northern city of Rangpur on July 16. He was the first student demonstrator killed in the police crackdown on protests and footage of his last moments was shown repeatedly on Bangladeshi television after Hasina's downfall. The ICT court opened its first trial connected to Hasina's 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 that 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. Separately on Sunday, the Supreme Court restored the registration of Bangladesh's largest Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami, allowing it to take part in elections. Hasina had banned Jamaat-e-Islami and cracked down on its leaders. Bangladesh's interim government banned the Awami League in May, pending the outcome of her trial, and those of other party leaders.
Time of India
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Bangladesh court begins first trial of Sheikh Hasina-era officials
Bangladesh court begins first trial of Hasina-era officials DHAKA: Bangladesh began the first trial on Sunday at a special court prosecuting former senior figures connected to the ousted government of Sheikh Hasina, the chief prosecutor said. The court in the capital Dhaka accepted a formal charge against eight police officials in connection to the killing of six protesters on August 5 last year, the day Hasina fled the country as the protesters stormed her palace. The eight men are charged with crimes against humanity. Four are in custody and four are being tried in absentia. "The formal trial has begun," Tajul Islam, chief prosecutor of Bangladesh's domestic International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), told reporters. "The prosecution believes that this prosecution will be able to prove the crimes done by the accused," he said. It is the first formal charge in any case related to the killings during last year's student-led uprising, which ended Hasina's iron-fisted rule of 15 years. 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. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Ready-to-Move In 2/3 BHK @ ₹5400/Sqft Undo Just 10 min to Annanagar Undo Fully equipped with Modern amenities Undo The list of those facing trial includes Dhaka's former police commissioner, Habibur Rahman, who is among those being tried in absentia. Hasina also fled by helicopter to India, her old ally. She remains in self-imposed exile, defying Dhaka's extradition request to face charges of crimes against humanity. 'Command responsibility' The launch of the trials of senior figures from Hasina's government is a key demand of several of the political parties now jostling for power as the South Asian nation awaits elections that the interim government has vowed will take place before June 2026. Islam said the eight men were accused of "different responsibilities", including the most senior for "superior command responsibility, some for direct orders.. (and) some for participation". He said he was confident of a successful prosecution. "We have submitted as much evidence as required to prove crimes against humanity, both at a national and an international standard," he said. Among that evidence, he said, was video footage of the violence, as well as voice recordings of Hasina in "conversations with different people where she ordered the killing of the protesters using force and lethal weapons". 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 over the following years and became widely seen as a means for Hasina to eliminate rivals.
Hindustan Times
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Ban on Awami League is bad news for democracy
Bangladesh's caretaker administration has banned Awami League, even as a special tribunal investigates and tries the party's senior leadership over the deaths of hundreds of protesters before party chief Sheikh Hasina was ousted as prime minister last year by a popular uprising. It has offered 'protection of activists' who participated in the anti-Hasina protests, and 'plaintiffs and witnesses in the trial' as justification for the move. However, several concerns arise from the drastic step. First, the Awami League, whose history is inextricably tied to the creation of Bangladesh and the country's foundational vision as a nation centred on Bengali linguistic identity, represents a particular line of political thought in the country's politics — a strand of which is secularism as a guiding principle for the State. Banning the Awami League sends out a signal to the domestic polity and the global community that the caretaker administration — which has representation and support from a cross-section of anti-Awami League outfits, including Islamists — wants to steer the country away from such a vision. The implications of such action are dire for a country where minority groups form a tenth of the population. Second, the ban has consequences for political representation and diversity in the country. Ensuring political representation to Hasina critics was one of the drivers of the uprising. Against this backdrop, the caretaker administration banning the Awami League seems a repeat of the Hasina-era blunders. Third, the ban shows the probe and the trial of Awami League leaders and activists in a dubious light. Whether fairness can be expected or not becomes uncertain, especially if the move ends up being a pre-emptive quashing of the Awami League's defence against accusations of criminality. The caretaker administration must not play into the hands of the forces who want to rewrite Bangladesh's history. Democratic erosion is the last thing Bangladesh needs. Get 360° coverage—from daily headlines to 100 year archives.
