Latest news with #SheikhHasina
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘Shoot them': Sheikh Hasina ordered firing on Bangladesh protesters in 2024
Former prime minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, 'issued an open order' to 'use lethal weapons' on students protesting against her government's policies last year and shoot 'wherever they find them', her secret phone call recordings, accessed by Al Jazeera, have revealed. Hasina, who ruled Bangladesh for 15 years, resigned from office and fled to India on August 5 after weeks of bloody protests and brutal action by government forces killed nearly 1,400 people and wounded more than 20,000, according to the country's International Criminal Tribunal (ICT). The Al Jazeera Investigative Unit (I-Unit) had the recordings analysed by audio forensic experts to check for AI manipulation, and the callers were identified by voice matching. In one call, recorded on July 18 by the National Telecommunications Monitoring Centre (NTMC), Hasina told an ally that she had ordered her security forces to use lethal force. 'My instructions have already been given. I've issued an open order completely. Now they will use lethal weapons, shoot wherever they find them,' she said.. 'That has been instructed. I have stopped them so far … I was thinking about the students' safety.' Later in the call with Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh, the mayor of Dhaka South and a relative of Hasina, the former PM talks about using helicopters to control demonstrations. 'Wherever they notice any gathering, it's from above – now it's being done from above – it has already started in several places. It has begun. Some [protesters] have moved.' At the time, Bangladeshi security forces had denied firing on protesters from the air, but Shabir Sharif, an accident and emergency doctor at the Popular Medical College Hospital in Dhaka, told the I-Unit that shots were fired from a helicopter 'targeting our hospital entrance'. He added that doctors attended to student protesters with unusual bullet wounds. 'The bullets entered either the shoulder or the chest, and they all remained inside the body. We were receiving more of these types of patients at that time,' he said. 'When we looked at the X-rays, we were surprised because there were huge bullets.' Al Jazeera has not been able to verify what type of bullets were used. Dr Shabir Sharif [Al Jazeera] The calls may be presented by prosecutors as evidence before the ICT, which has charged Hasina, her ministers and security officials with crimes against humanity. Hasina and two other officials were indicted on July 10, and the trial is scheduled to begin in August. Hasina's surveillance network, the NTMC, recorded these conversations. The NTMC has previously been accused of spying on not just opposition figures but even Hasina's political allies. Tajul Islam, chief prosecutor for the ICT, said the former prime minister knew she was being recorded. 'In some cases, the other side [would say we] … 'should not discuss this over telephone'. And the reply was from the prime minister, 'Yes, I know, I know, I know, I know, it is being recorded, no problem.'' 'She has dug a very deep ditch for others. Now she's in the ditch,' Islam said. Student protests started peacefully in June 2024 after the high court reintroduced an unpopular quota system that reserved state jobs for the families of veterans who fought in Bangladesh's war of independence in 1971. Many students felt the system favoured supporters of the ruling Awami League party, which had led the freedom movement, and that many jobs in the civil service were not awarded on merit. On July 16, student protester Abu Sayed was shot dead by police in the northern city of Rangpur. His death was a turning point in the July uprising, leading to a national outcry and intensifying the protests. In one secret phone recording of Hasina's ally and economics adviser, Salman F Rahman, he is heard trying to get hold of Sayed's postmortem report. During the call, Rahman quizzes inspector general of police, Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, wanting to know what had happened to the report. 'Why is it taking so long to get the postmortem report? Who's playing hide and seek? Rangpur Medical?' he asked, referring to Rangpur Medical College and Hospital, which was carrying out the autopsy on Sayed. Rangpur Medical College Hospital's Dr Rajibul Islam told Al Jazeera that police forced him to change Sayed's postmortem report five times to remove any reference to multiple bullet wounds. 'They wanted to write a report stating that Abu Sayed Bhai died due to injuries from stone-throwing … [whereas] he died from police bullets.' Twelve days after Sayed's death, his family were flown to Dhaka for a televised event with the prime minister. In all, about 40 families were gathered – all of them had relatives killed in the protests. 'Hasina forced us to come to Ganabhaban,' said Sayed's father, Maqbul Hossain, referring to the PM's residence. 'They forced us to come; otherwise, they might have tortured us in another way.' As the cameras recorded the event, Hasina handed out money to each family. She told Sayed's sister, Sumi Khatun: 'We will deliver justice to your family.' Khatun replied to the PM: 'It was shown in the video that the police shot him. What is there to investigate here? Coming here was a mistake.' In a statement to Al Jazeera, an Awami League spokesperson said Hasina had never used the phrase 'lethal weapons', and did not specifically authorise the security forces to use lethal force. 'This [Hasina's phone] recording is either cherry-picked, doctored or both.' The statement added that government efforts to investigate Abu Sayed's death were 'genuine'.
Al Jazeera
a day ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
‘Shoot them': Sheikh Hasina ordered firing on Bangladesh protesters in 2024
Former prime minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, 'issued an open order' to 'use lethal weapons' on students protesting against her government's policies last year and shoot 'wherever they find them', her secret phone call recordings, accessed by Al Jazeera, have revealed. Hasina, who ruled Bangladesh for 15 years, resigned from office and fled to India on August 5 after weeks of bloody protests and brutal action by government forces killed nearly 1,400 people and wounded more than 20,000, according to the country's International Criminal Tribunal (ICT). The Al Jazeera Investigative Unit (I-Unit) had the recordings analysed by audio forensic experts to check for AI manipulation, and the callers were identified by voice matching. In one call, recorded on July 18 by the National Telecommunications Monitoring Centre (NTMC), Hasina told an ally that she had ordered her security forces to use lethal force. 'My instructions have already been given. I've issued an open order completely. Now they will use lethal weapons, shoot wherever they find them,' she said.. 'That has been instructed. I have stopped them so far … I was thinking about the students' safety.' Later in the call with Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh, the mayor of Dhaka South and a relative of Hasina, the former PM talks about using helicopters to control demonstrations. 'Wherever they notice any gathering, it's from above – now it's being done from above – it has already started in several places. It has begun. Some [protesters] have moved.' At the time, Bangladeshi security forces had denied firing on protesters from the air, but Shabir Sharif, an accident and emergency doctor at the Popular Medical College Hospital in Dhaka, told the I-Unit that shots were fired from a helicopter 'targeting our hospital entrance'. He added that doctors attended to student protesters with unusual bullet wounds. 'The bullets entered either the shoulder or the chest, and they all remained inside the body. We were receiving more of these types of patients at that time,' he said. 'When we looked at the X-rays, we were surprised because there were huge bullets.' Al Jazeera has not been able to verify what type of bullets were used. The calls may be presented by prosecutors as evidence before the ICT, which has charged Hasina, her ministers and security officials with crimes against humanity. Hasina and two other officials were indicted on July 10, and the trial is scheduled to begin in August. Hasina's surveillance network, the NTMC, recorded these conversations. The NTMC has previously been accused of spying on not just opposition figures but even Hasina's political allies. Tajul Islam, chief prosecutor for the ICT, said the former prime minister knew she was being recorded. 'In some cases, the other side [would say we] … 'should not discuss this over telephone'. And the reply was from the prime minister, 'Yes, I know, I know, I know, I know, it is being recorded, no problem.'' 'She has dug a very deep ditch for others. Now she's in the ditch,' Islam said. Student protests started peacefully in June 2024 after the high court reintroduced an unpopular quota system that reserved state jobs for the families of veterans who fought in Bangladesh's war of independence in 1971. Many students felt the system favoured supporters of the ruling Awami League party, which had led the freedom movement, and that many jobs in the civil service were not awarded on merit. On July 16, student protester Abu Sayed was shot dead by police in the northern city of Rangpur. His death was a turning point in the July uprising, leading to a national outcry and intensifying the protests. In one secret phone recording of Hasina's ally and economics adviser, Salman F Rahman, he is heard trying to get hold of Sayed's postmortem report. During the call, Rahman quizzes inspector general of police, Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, wanting to know what had happened to the report. 'Why is it taking so long to get the postmortem report? Who's playing hide and seek? Rangpur Medical?' he asked, referring to Rangpur Medical College and Hospital, which was carrying out the autopsy on Sayed. Rangpur Medical College Hospital's Dr Rajibul Islam told Al Jazeera that police forced him to change Sayed's postmortem report five times to remove any reference to multiple bullet wounds. 'They wanted to write a report stating that Abu Sayed Bhai died due to injuries from stone-throwing … [whereas] he died from police bullets.' Twelve days after Sayed's death, his family were flown to Dhaka for a televised event with the prime minister. In all, about 40 families were gathered – all of them had relatives killed in the protests. 'Hasina forced us to come to Ganabhaban,' said Sayed's father, Maqbul Hossain, referring to the PM's residence. 'They forced us to come; otherwise, they might have tortured us in another way.' As the cameras recorded the event, Hasina handed out money to each family. She told Sayed's sister, Sumi Khatun: 'We will deliver justice to your family.' Khatun replied to the PM: 'It was shown in the video that the police shot him. What is there to investigate here? Coming here was a mistake.' In a statement to Al Jazeera, an Awami League spokesperson said Hasina had never used the phrase 'lethal weapons', and did not specifically authorise the security forces to use lethal force. 'This [Hasina's phone] recording is either cherry-picked, doctored or both.' The statement added that government efforts to investigate Abu Sayed's death were 'genuine'.
Al Jazeera
2 days ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
HASINA – 36 DAYS IN JULY
Al Jazeera's I-Unit has obtained covertly recorded phone calls that reveal how the former prime minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, ordered the use of lethal force to crack down on student protesters during the July Uprising in 2024. The investigative programme, 'HASINA – 36 DAYS IN JULY, takes viewers inside the former prime minister's inner circle during the final days of her rule. During the three bloody weeks of demonstrations fifteen hundred people were killed, over twenty-five thousand were injured, and more than three million rounds of ammunition were fired by Sheikh Hasina's security forces. The calls made by Sheikh Hasina were recorded by her own spy agency, a ruthless network that helped her rule Bangladesh with an iron grip. The Al Jazeera investigation exposes how the spies who used to protect her recorded evidence of a regime now charged with committing 'systemic atrocities.' In one recording on 18 July 2024, Sheikh Hasina tells the former mayor of Dhaka South, Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh: 'my instructions have already been given. I've issued an open order completely. Now they will use lethal weapons, shoot wherever they find them .....That has been instructed, I have stopped them so far….I was thinking about the students' safety.' Recordings also reveals her use of helicopters to suppress the protests from the air:'….wherever they notice any gathering it's from above—now it's being done from above—it has already started in several places. It has begun. Some have moved.' In the film, a doctor validates the claims that many protestors were killed and wounded by gunfire from helicopters. The programme further reveals how the Awami League government used threats and bribes to cover up the police killing of student Abu Sayed; his death provoked national outrage. Secret calls reveal how Sheikh Hasina's most powerful ally, Salman F Rahman, tried to obtain Sayed's post-mortem report. We reveal how it was changed five times to erase any mention of guns, and how his family, fearing for their lives, were made to meet Sheikh Hasina on state television. The programme further reveals how the Awami League government resorted to threats and bribes in an attempt to conceal the police killing of student Abu Sayed, whose death provoked national outrage. Secret recordings show that Sheikh Hasina's most influential ally, Salman F Rahman, sought to obtain Sayed's post-mortem report, how it was altered five times to remove any reference to the use of firearms in his death, and how Sayed's family were compelled to meet Sheikh Hasina on state television out of fear for their safety. Leaked confidential documents accessed by Al Jazeera's Investigative Unit exposes the dirty tricks used by Hasina's government to shut down the internet and stop the bloody images of the violence from reaching the world. In a statement to Al Jazeera, an Awami League spokesperson said Sheikh Hasina has never used the phrase, 'lethal weapons', and did not specifically authorise or direct the security forces to use lethal force. It disputes the authenticity of the 18 July 2024 recording. It also said it was sorry if the family of Abu Sayed felt intimidated but the former government's resolve to investigate potential misconduct, including by security forces, was genuine. It stated that Sheikh Hasina believed the internet was shut down by damage caused by protestors. 'HASINA – 36 DAYS IN JULY' will be aired on Al Jazeera English on 24 July 2025 at 12:00 GMT, and will also be available on YouTube at the following link.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bangladesh's largest Islamist party rallies for fair elections
Hundreds of thousands of supporters of Bangladesh's largest Islamist party took part in a rally in the capital, Dhaka, demanding an overhaul of the electoral system. The South Asian nation is expected to head to the polls next year as it stands at a crossroads after the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. On Saturday, Jamaat-e-Islami placed a seven-point demand on the country's interim government headed by Muhammad Yunus to ensure a free, fair and peaceful election, justice for all mass killings, essential reforms and the proclamation and implementation of a charter involving last year's mass uprising. The party also said it wants the introduction of a proportional representation system in the election. Thousands of supporters of Jamaat-e-Islami spent the night on the Dhaka University campus before the rally. On Saturday morning, braving the sweltering heat, they continued to stream towards Suhrawardy Udyan, a historical site where the Pakistani army surrendered to a joint force of India and Bangladesh on December 16, 1971, ending the nine-month war. 'We are here for a new Bangladesh, where Islam would be the guiding principle of governance, where good and honest people will rule the country, and there will be no corruption,' said Iqbal Hossain, 40. 'We will sacrifice our lives, if necessary, for this cause.''No discrimination' Some demonstrators wore T-shirts bearing the party's logo, others sported headbands inscribed with its name, while many displayed metallic badges shaped like a scale – the party's electoral symbol. Many young supporters in their 20s and 30s were also present. 'Under Jamaat-e-Islami, this country will have no discrimination. All people will have their rights. Because we follow the path of the holy book – Quran,' said Mohidul Morsalin Sayem, a 20-year-old student. 'If all the Islamist parties join hands, soon, nobody will be able to take power from us.' The party's chief, Shafiqur Rahman, said the country's struggle in 2024 was to eliminate 'fascism', but this time, there would be another fight against corruption and extortion. 'How will the future Bangladesh look like? There will be another fight … We will do whatever is necessary and win that fight,' Rahman said. After Bangladesh's independence, Jamaat, which sided with Pakistan during Bangladesh's war of independence in 1971, was banned. It later re-emerged and registered its best electoral performance in 1991 when it secured 18 seats. The party also joined a coalition government in 2001, but failed to build lasting popular support. While Prime Minister Hasina was in power from 2009 until she was toppled in student-led protests last year and fled to India, top leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami were either executed or jailed on charges of crimes against humanity and other serious crimes in 1971. Last month, the Supreme Court restored the party's registration, paving the way for its participation in elections slated for next April. In a statement on X, Hasina's Awami League party reacted sharply to Yunus's government allowing Saturday's rally. The statement said the move 'marks a stark betrayal with the national conscience and constitutes a brazen act of undermining millions of people – dead and alive – who fought against the evil axis [in 1971]'. The Yunus-led administration has banned the Awami League, and Hasina has been in exile in India since last August. She faces charges of crimes against the daily Crossword
CTV News
6 days ago
- Politics
- CTV News
Bangladesh's Islamist party projects force with a big rally in Dhaka
Thousands of supporters of Bangladesh's largest Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami attend a rally in a show of strength ahead of elections expected next year, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Saturday, July 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu) DHAKA, Bangladesh — Hundreds of thousands of supporters of Bangladesh's largest Islamist party rallied in the capital on Saturday to show their strength before an election expected next year, as the South Asian nation stands at a crossroads after the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. An interim government headed by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus said that the next election would be held in April. But his administration didn't rule out a possibility of polls in February, which has been strongly demanded by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its allies. Jamaat-e-Islami, which had sided with Pakistan during Bangladesh's war of independence in 1971, had said that it would mobilize 1 million people on Saturday. While Hasina was in power from 2009 until she was toppled in student-led protests last year and fled to India, top leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami were either executed or jailed on charges of crimes against humanity and other serious crimes in 1971. In late March 1971, Pakistan's military had launched a violent crackdown on the city of Dhaka, which was then part of East Pakistan, to quell a rising nationalist movement seeking independence for what is today known as Bangladesh. Islamists demand free and fair elections The party on Saturday placed a seven-point demand on the Yunus-led administration to ensure a free, fair and peaceful election; justice for all mass killings; essential reforms and the proclamation and implementation of a charter involving last year's mass uprising. It also wants the introduction of a proportional representation system in the election. Thousands of supporters of Jamaat-e-Islami had spent the night on the Dhaka University campus before the rally. On Saturday morning, they continued to stream toward Suhrawardy Udyan, a historical site where the Pakistani army had surrendered to a joint force of India and Bangladesh on Dec. 16, 1971, ending the nine-month war. 'We are here for a new Bangladesh, where Islam would be the guiding principle of governance, where good and honest people will rule the country, and there will be no corruption,' Iqbal Hossain, 40, told The Associated Press. 'We will sacrifice our lives, if necessary, for this cause.' Many young supporters in their 20s and 30s were also present. 'Under Jamaat-e-Islami, this country will have no discrimination. All people will have their rights. Because we follow the path of the holy book, Quran,' said Mohidul Morsalin Sayem, a 20-year-old student. 'If all the Islamist parties join hands soon, nobody will be able to take power from us.' The party's chief, Shafiqur Rahman, said that the struggle in 2024 was to eliminate 'fascism' from the country, but this time there will be another fight against corruption and extortion. Rahman, 66, fainted twice as he addressed his supporters, but quickly returned to continue to speak surrounded by other leaders on the stage. 'How will the future Bangladesh look like? There will be another fight ... We will do whatever is necessary and win that fight (against corruption) collectively by uniting the strength of the youth to eliminate corruption,' Rahman said. It wasn't immediately clear why he fainted. He was later taken to a hospital for tests. The event was the first time that the party was allowed to hold a rally at the site since 1971. To many, the decision signaled a shift supported by Yunus' government in which Islamists are gaining momentum with further fragmentation of Bangladesh's politics and the shrinking of liberal forces. Hasina's Awami League party, in a statement on X, reacted sharply for allowing it to hold the rally on that politically sensitive site. It said that the move 'marks a stark betrayal with the national conscience and constitutes a brazen act of undermining millions of people — dead and alive — who fought against the evil axis (in 1971),' the statement said. Tensions between parties over Yunus' reforms Hasina, whose father was the independence leader and the country's first president, is a fierce political rival of Jamaat-e-Islami. The party is expected to contest 300 parliamentary seats and is attempting to forge alliances with other Islamist groups and parties in hopes of becoming a third force in the country behind the BNP, headed by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, and Hasina's former ruling Awami League party. The party had previously shared power with the BNP, and it had two senior Cabinet members under Zia in 2001-2006. After Hasina was ousted, tensions grew between parties over reforms agenda undertaken by the Yunus government, which is facing challenges to establish order in the country. The government has been criticized by Hasina's party and others for using force in a confrontation with protesters in a Hasina stronghold on Wednesday, where four people died. Their families complained that authorities didn't conduct autopsies and hurriedly buried or cremated their relatives. Yunus' office said that the government was doing everything lawfully in Gopalganj, the district where the violence occurred. Jamaat-e-Islami has now established close ties with a new political party formed by students who led the anti-Hasina uprising. Both Jamaat-e-Islami and the students' National Citizen Party also promote an anti-India campaign. The Yunus-led administration has banned the Awami League, and Hasina has been in exile in India since Aug. 5. She is facing charges of crimes against humanity. The United Nations said in February that up to 1,400 people may have been killed during the anti-Hasina uprising in July-August last year. Julhas Alam, The Associated Press
