Dhaka:
International Crimes Tribunal hearing live, Hasina Wajid accused of ‘organized
attacks’
The trial of
Bangladesh's self-imposed exiled former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajid has
begun in Dhaka.
According to
the AFP news agency, government prosecutors said at the start of the trial on
Sunday that "fugitive former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina planned a
'systematic attack' that amounted to crimes against humanity."
According to
the United Nations, 1,400 people were killed between July and August 2024
during the Hasina Wajid government's crackdown on the opposition and
protesters.
Hasina, 77,
fled by helicopter to her old ally India after a student-led uprising ended her
15-year rule.
She has also
refused to accept a court order to extradite her.
Bangladesh’s
International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) is prosecuting officials from Hasina’s
ousted government and figures linked to her now-banned Awami League party.
“After
examining the evidence, we concluded that this was a coordinated, widespread
and systematic attack,” ICT Chief Prosecutor Muhammad Tajul Islam told the
court in his opening statement.
The
prosecutor said that “the accused used all law enforcement agencies and armed
members of his party to crush the protesters.”
Prosecutor
Tajul Islam brought five charges against Hasina Wajid and two other officials,
including “inciting violence against protesters in July, conspiring, and
failing to prevent their mass killing.”
The
prosecution says such actions amount to “crimes against humanity.”
‘This is
not revenge’
Hasina
Wajid, who is living in self-imposed exile in India, has dismissed the charges
as political vendetta.
Along with
Hasina Wajid, former police chief Chaudhry Abdullah al-Mamun and former
interior minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal are also named in the case.
The former
police chief is currently in custody but was not produced before the tribunal
on Sunday. Former interior minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal is on the run.
Legal action
against senior figures from Hasina Wajid’s government is among the demands of
political parties now vying for power.
The interim
government has vowed to hold elections before June 2026.
The
International Crimes Tribunal hearing is being broadcast live on Bangladeshi
state television.
The
prosecutor expressed his determination that the trial would be impartial.
“This is not
an act of revenge, but a commitment to the principle that there is no room for
crimes against humanity in a democratic country,” he said.
In their
investigation, investigators have collected video footage, audio clips, Hasina
Wajid’s phone conversations and records of helicopter and drone movements, as
well as statements from victims of the crackdown.
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