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United News of India
02-07-2025
- Politics
- United News of India
Hasina sentenced to 6 months jail by International Crimes Tribunal for contempt of court
Dhaka, July 2 (UNI) Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is living in exile in India, has been sentenced to six months in jail by the International Crimes Tribunal for contempt of court. A three-member tribunal, led by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder, passed the order today after reviewing a purported leaked phone conversation involving Hasina that circulated on social media last year, Daily Star reported. In the audio clip, Hasina is allegedly heard telling former Gobindaganj upazila chairman Shakil Akanda Bulbul, "I have had 227 cases filed against me, so I have received a licence to kill 227 people." The tribunal considered the statement contemptuous and a direct attempt to undermine the court. Shakil Akanda Bulbul, a leader of the Awami League's banned student affiliate Chhatra League from Gaibandha's Gobindaganj, has been sentenced to two months in prison for his role in the conversation. According to tribunal sources, the sentence will take effect only once the convicts surrender before the court or are arrested by law-enforcers. Once enforced, the sentence will be classified as non-rigorous imprisonment. This marks the first time Hasina has been sentenced in any case since her ouster from office on August 5 last year, in the face of a so-called student-led protest, and her fleeing to New Delhi, India, where she has been staying since then under heavy security. The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) had conducted a forensic analysis and confirmed the authenticity of the audio. The charges were filed against Hasina and Shakil by the ICT's Chief Prosecutor Tajul Islam on April 30. The tribunal accepted the charges that day and ordered the accused to respond by May 15. When they failed to do so, the tribunal issued a summons on May 25 for them to appear in court. Although the law does not require the appointment of a state-funded lawyer in such cases, the court appointed a legal representative for Hasina 'in the interest of justice'. For the full hearing of the case, the ICT appointed AY Mashiuzzaman as amicus curiae (a friend of the court). Following the hearing, the court on Wednesday found both Hasina and Shakil guilty and delivered its verdict. The ICT was originally established by the Awami League government in 2010 to try war crimes committed in 1971. After the fall of the Awami League government on Aug 5, 2024, the interim government initiated trials against Hasina and her associates under the same tribunal. So far, three arrest warrants have been issued by the tribunal against Hasina. Among them, one warrant is based on five charges of crimes against humanity for her role in suppressing the July Uprising. The interim government has amended the law to allow for the trial of the Awami League as a political party for its role in the July–August crackdown. Until that trial is concluded, a ban has been imposed on all activities of the Awami League. UNI ANV GNK 1549
CNA
02-07-2025
- Politics
- CNA
Bangladesh's fugitive ex-leader sentenced to six months for contempt of court
DHAKA: Bangladesh on Wednesday (Jul 2) 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. "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 Jun 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.
