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Indian Express
2 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
With charges against Sheikh Hasina, ICT in Bangladesh has come full circle
Written by Sreeradha Datta It is an ironic twist of fate to see the International Criminal Tribunal (ICT), formed in 1973 and revived by Sheikh Hasina herself to try those who had committed crimes during the Liberation War of 1971, now poised to indict her. Hasina, the longest-serving prime minister of Bangladesh, is being held accountable for the alleged crimes committed during her last tenure, specifically during the students' anti-quota uprising that led to her overthrow. Earlier this May, investigators submitted their report on the July–August 2024 killings, naming her as the one who issued the orders for the security forces to open fire on the protesters. To recall briefly, Sheikh Hasina took office in January 2009 with a huge mandate. To consolidate power, she ushered in amendments, including the abolition of the caretaker government (CTG) system in 2011 — a system unique to Bangladesh, which had served well in assisting the Election Commission to hold free and fair elections. Ironically, it was Hasina who had insisted on legally introducing the CTG in 1996. While she believed Bangladesh was ready to hold elections without a CTG, the opposition disagreed. Hasina then went on to use the Digital Security Act to silence any dissenting voices. The government's impunity was exemplified by elections marred by allegations of rigging, and the use of state apparatus to undermine the autonomy and independence of institutions, enabling a coterie that wielded disproportionate influence over policymaking. During the July–August uprising, security forces initiated a brutal crackdown on protesters. In the face of growing public anger and the Army's inability to guarantee her safety, she fled to India, where she continues to reside, reassuring her supporters of her return in glory to her homeland. Within days of Hasina's escape, the Interim Government headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus took over, promising to bring the accused to justice. The ICT, which has previously executed four Jamaat leaders and a Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader, will now hear the five charges filed against Hasina. A three-judge tribunal — comprising Golam Mortuza Mozumder, Md Shofiul Alam Mahmood, and Mohammad Mohitul Haque Anam Chawdhury — will be hearing the charges. Two others charged are former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan and the then IGP Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun. The latter is in police custody, while Hasina and Khan remain outside the country. This is the first time Hasina has been formally charged by the ICT in connection with the crackdown that took place during the July-August protests. She has also been accused of running secret detention centres. The Interim Government has further alleged that she orchestrated the disappearance of more than 3,500 people. A report by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights highlighted the excesses that occurred under her watch. The report also reiterated that up to 13 per cent of those killed during the uprising were children. Hasina will be tried on five specific charges, including the killing of unarmed protester Abu Sayed at close range, shot in the chest without provocation. The next hearing is scheduled for June 16. Whether physically in Bangladesh or tried in absentia, Hasina will be prosecuted under the ICT Act of 1973. Bangladesh has already requested India to extradite Sheikh Hasina. There will now be a renewed attempt at a higher diplomatic level. However, the likelihood of India agreeing to extradite Hasina is low. Although a bilateral extradition treaty exists, the caveats are significant. From the Indian perspective, Hasina's trial, given the prevailing political atmosphere in Bangladesh, is unlikely to be free and fair. Apart from the ICT, requesting the involvement of the International Criminal Court is also an option for Dhaka. The writer is Professor at the Jindal School of International Affairs, O P Jindal Global University, and a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Sheikh Hasina charged with crimes against humanity: The court in question, what she is accused of
Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal accepted on Sunday (June 1) that ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina could be charged with crimes against humanity. The court directed investigators to produce Hasina, as well as a former home minister and a former police chief, before the court on June 16. Hasina has been in exile in India since August 2024, when an uprising led to the culmination of her 15-year reign in power. Bangladesh sent a formal request to India to extradite Hasina in December 2024. What is the standing of this court, and what is Hasina accused of? We explain. The tribunal was established under the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act. It was passed two years after the Liberation War of 1971 led to the formation of Bangladesh, formerly known as East Pakistan. The Act provided for the 'detection, prosecution and punishment of persons for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and other crimes under International Law committed in the territory of Bangladesh during the war of Liberation, particularly between 25 March to 16 December 1971.' It was seen as necessary, given the bloody nine-month period of fighting unleashed by the forces of West Pakistan, which rejected the results of the 1970 general elections. In East Pakistan, the Awami League, led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (the father of Sheikh Hasina), won 160 of the 162 electoral seats. However, the ruling establishment of Pakistan refused to accord legitimacy to the win to restrict the growth of a popular, Bengali nationalist sentiment. As a result of brewing discontent in East Pakistan due to the imposition of West Pakistan's cultural and political ideas over the years, it had the opposite effect, and protests broke out. On March 25, 1971, the Pakistani military began a brutal crackdown that saw the mass slaughter of Bengalis and the influx of Bangladeshi refugees into India. The conflict ended on December 16, days after India formally declared war on Pakistan on December 4. How was the tribunal formed? According to the book Trials for International Crimes in Asia (2015), some 82,000 members of the Pakistani armed forces and some 11,000 civilians were taken as prisoners of war or internees by the joint command of the Bangladesh and Indian forces. The Act was passed in 1973 to try 195 prisoners of war who were alleged to have committed war crimes. However, in February 1974, 'Pakistan recognised Bangladesh as an independent state and the relationship between the two countries improved.' Bangladesh then granted clemency to the 195 suspects, and they were repatriated to Pakistan. More than three decades later, the Hasina-led Awami League government 'revived the idea of trials, declaring its intention to prosecute members of the political opposition for war crimes.' To do so, it amended the Act in 2009 to include civilians under its ambit and formed a three-member tribunal, known as the International Crimes Tribunal. Among the first people it prosecuted were members of the political opposition, including the Jamaat-e-Islami. The party was opposed to the liberation of Bangladesh and advocated for remaining with Pakistan, but has maintained that it did not commit atrocities during the war. According to an AFP report, under Hasina, the ICT sentenced more than 100 people to death. The court was often criticised by rights groups for not following international conventions. For instance, the book notes that the 1973 Act permits trials in absentia (without the accused present), despite the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights asserting a person's right to be tried 'in his presence'. Hasina was ousted following weeks of protests, initially led by students who opposed a controversial court decision to extend a quota in public jobs and education. The quota was for the children and grandchildren of people who fought in the Liberation War. The government agreed to the protesters' demands on scrapping the quota, but the situation worsened after Hasina equated the protesters with the descendants of the razakars – those who led the brutal repression during the 1971 war. Over time, it coalesced into anti-Hasina protests, and the subsequent police crackdown saw more than 450 people killed. According to the Bangladeshi newspaper The Daily Star, five specific charges have been brought against Hasina. Chief Prosecutor Tajul Islam submitted the complaint to the tribunal, including counts of murder, attempt to murder, and other 'inhumane' acts. The defendants were accused of 'inciting, facilitating, being complicit in, and failing to prevent these crimes committed against civilians by law enforcement and armed cadres of the Awami League and its affiliates.' Second, Sheikh Hasina is accused of 'ordering the extermination of student protesters through the use of helicopters, drones, and lethal weapons.' It then accuses them in the case of the murder of Abu Sayed, a protesting student, near Begum Rokeya University in Rangpur. 'Sheikh Hasina is accused of making inflammatory remarks and ordering the use of deadly weapons against protesting students,' the report said. There are two other cases mentioned – the shooting and murder of six unarmed protesters in Dhaka's Chankharpul and the shooting of six student protesters in Ashulia. Rishika Singh is a Senior sub-editor at the Explained Desk of The Indian Express. She enjoys writing on issues related to international relations, and in particular, likes to follow analyses of news from China. Additionally, she writes on developments related to politics and culture in India. ... Read More
India Today
20-05-2025
- Politics
- India Today
Why Yunus govt, Bangladesh Islamists can't kill Awami League
"Awami League runs in our blood. We are people of the boat [Awami League symbol], we will remain people of the boat, die as people of the boat, and give birth to people of the boat," says a woman in a video that has been widely shared on social media after the Awami League was banned by the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government in Bangladesh. What the video reiterates is known widely in Bangladesh -- the Awami League isn't just a political party but a cult, and people are born into becomes all the more clear when one considers the fact that the Awami League was banned thrice earlier, but emerged stronger every time. But how does a party banned by the ruling regime of the time from active politics not just survive but return to rule?The party draws its legacy from the Liberation War of 1971 -- the very foundational ethos of Bangladesh -- and its founder, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, holds a cult status as one of the foremost heroes of Bengali Muslims and Hindus one of the two main national parties, the other being the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the Awami League has a 40 percent vote share. Though it might not be as organised as the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh, the Awami League is present across Bangladesh with its village and mohalla has strong local leadership in all 64 districts in the eight divisions of Bangladesh. No other party, including the BNP, can boast of such a network. That is the reason why, despite its chief, Sheikh Hasina, being in exile in India, the Awami League or AL has been able to intensify protest rallies since the latest ban on May LEAGUE: BANGABANDHU'S INHERITOR OF BANGLA NATIONALISMThere is a cross-polarity at play in Bangladesh in the histories of 1947 and Ziaur Rahman, the founder of the BNP, his followers and the Islamists believe that the roots of Bangladesh are in 1947 -- when it was carved out on religious lines -- Mujibur Rahman, his Awami League and the Left parties believe the true Liberation was in 1971 -- when Bangladesh detached itself from the Islamic Republic of Pakistan on the basis of Bengali was the imposition of Urdu by West Pakistan over Bengali that saw the Bhasha Juddho or language war in 1952, which culminated in the fight for liberation in there is no denying the fact that pro-Pakistan elements have always remained in Bangladesh, and have been branded Razakars, an ultimate cuss word for a Bangladeshi, Bengali nationalism has been the glue that has kept Hindus and Muslims bound Awami League has been the inheritor of Bangabandhu Mujibur Rahman's Bengali nationalism and his secular politics. The recent ban on the Awami League was the result of intense protests and lobbying by Islamists and student leaders. The AL's rivals and radical Islamists have always tried to project it as a pro-Hindu and pro-India freedom struggle from 1948 to 1971 centres around Sheikh Mujibur's life. The story of modern Bangladesh is incomplete without tomes to Mujib, and that is the legacy that the Awami League has come to Mujibur Rahman remains the tallest icon of the edifice on which Bangladesh was built was evident when Islamist mobs targeted his statues after the fall of Sheikh Hasina regime on August 5, 2024, and his Dhanmondi 32 residence earlier this mob used heavy earthmovers and flames to destroy the building in February. However, some people risked their lives and lit candles amid the Rahman enjoys a cult status among millions of Bangladeshis, and the AL stays a cult because of those intrinsic LEAGUE HAS SUPPORT OF 40% OF BANGLADESH VOTERSThat is also the reason why the Awami League enjoys an overwhelming support from Bangladeshi Hindus and other minority communities. Historically, they have been voting for the AL, despite its local leaders oppressing and grabbing land from was a sense of alienation as Sheikh Hasina hobnobbed with the ultra-right Islamist group Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh, and opened Saudi-funded mosques, but the insecurity in the last few months must have reset things for the Awami just the minorities, people in general might not be as averse to the Awami League as they were five months ago, given the spiralling of the economy and a worsening law-and-order it will take much longer for the wounds to heal and the hurts to be forgiven. It was Hasina's dictatorial tendencies, crony culture, abysmal corruption among close aides, enforced disappearances and torture of opponents that made the recent AL regime highly unpopular. This wasn't the case Awami League has had traditional support from 40% of Bangladeshi voters in the last two decades, even if one ignored the elections since 2014, which, observers allege, involved large-scale the 2001 election, in which eventually the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami went on to form the government, the Awami League polled 40 percent of the votes. In the 2008 election, it was 48 question generally is, what happens to the mandate of the sizeable chunk of the voters?AWAMI LEAGURES MARRY INTO AWAMI LEAGUE FAMILIESWhat was said in the video by the woman that the Awami League runs in the blood and in families is a fact that Bangladeshis would attest even recount renowned poet Rafiq Azad as having said that "people are born into the Awami League".Awami Leaguers zealously guard their accommodative and inclusive ways, and generally marry into other Awami League people arranging matches within a community, the same can be said of the Awami Leaguers, who claim to have a general cultural and mental make-up which is distinct from that of is also the reason that it has a loyal voter base and a ban on its political activities thrice -- by Ayub Khan in 1958, Yahya Khan in 1971 and Ziaur Rahman in 1975 -- couldn't take away its life-giving latest ban on AL by the Yunus-led interim government came after the National Citizen Party -- an outfit formed by the students who led an agitation against reservation, which later turned into an anti-Hasina agitation -- and Islamist outfits blocked the Shahbag AL was banned on May 10 under anti-terrorism laws, and a gazette notification was brought out to that effect on May came nine months after Hasina and other top leaders of AL were forced to flee also holds an example that the Awami League isn't dependent on Sheikh Hasina, who is referred to as Apa (elder sister) or Netri (leader), for its went into a self-imposed exile in India after her father Mujib's assassination in 1975. While she was in exile, the public and the local leadership of AL resurrected the party and invited her back to Bangladesh to take over the reins of the party. She returned in between 1975 and 1981, the Chhatra League, the AL's students' wing, won elections in all the 29 government colleges and most of the state-run universities of Bangladesh, ousting the dominant Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal's students' the Awami League draws power from its roots, and not the top, has been on display since the ban was imposed. Earlier too, it had been holding demonstrations, rallies and May 18, videos and posts on social media claimed that AL members organised demonstrations at 39 sites in Dhaka and recaptured party offices that were taken over by the students' outfit. The Detective Branch of police arrested 11 AL members for taking out a procession in the capital's Gulistan area on May 18, according to The Dhaka and experts suggest that the political repression and ban by the Yunus government have helped the Awami League clamber out of the depths of its unpopularity. History has shown that the Awami League bounces back every time it has faced outright bans or repressive military regimes. That is only because the Awami League is a cult and the boat people give birth to Awami Watch
