Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal has sentenced former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to death for crimes against humanity. A three-member bench headed by Justice Muhammad Ghulam Murtaza, while delivering the verdict in the cases, declared that the charges against Sheikh Hasina Wajid have been proven based on solid evidence.
The tribunal issued a detailed 453-page verdict, declaring that the former prime minister deserves the death penalty for committing serious crimes against humanity. Security was on high alert across the country at the time of the verdict, while activists and students also protested outside his house.
According to the court, a leaked audio call revealed that Sheikh Hasina Wajid had taken strict action against the protesting students and ordered their killing. The verdict said that instead of listening to the students’ demands, she had taken steps that further worsened the situation and tried to suppress the movement by using force.
The court further said that Sheikh Hasina Wajid and former Interior Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal did not appear despite being sent notices several times, and both are still absconding, which, in the court’s view, is tantamount to their acceptance of the crime. The only accused in the case, Al-Mamun, was present in the court and had also confessed to the crime during the hearing in July.
The verdict also stated that Sheikh Hasina failed to take protective measures and, under one allegation, committed crimes against humanity by ordering the use of drones, helicopters, and lethal weapons.
