Bangladesh’s Sheikh Hasina Indicted For Mass Killings, Torture; Trial To Begin In Absentia On August 3

<p>Dhaka, Jul 10 (PTI) A special tribunal in Bangladesh on Thursday indicted deposed premier Sheikh Hasina in absentia on charges of crimes against humanity in connection with a deadly crackdown on protesters during the July-August uprising last year.</p>
<p>The International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh (ICT-BD) has set August 3 as the date for the trial.&nbsp; The tribunal has “framed the charge against her (Hasina) alongside the home minister of her regime Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and (the then) inspector general of police Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun,&rdquo; a prosecution lawyer told reporters.</p>
<p>The ICT bench, headed by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder, passed the order after rejecting a defence plea to dismiss the charges. The other two members of the tribunal are Justices Md Shofiul Alam Mahmood and Md Mohitul Haq Enam Chowdhury.</p>
<p>The prosecutors said Hasina along with the co-accused was indicted on five charges, including mass killings, murder, and torture to tame the protestors during last year’s July-August uprising.</p>
<p>If proven guilty, the accused could face the death penalty.</p>
<p>According to a UN rights office report, up to 1,400 people were killed between July 15 and August 15 last year as Hasina’s government ordered a security crackdown on protesters.</p>
<p>With Thursday’s order, the formal trial against 72-year-old Hasina and other defendants in the case for crimes against humanity has begun for the first time.</p>
<p>Hasina faces multiple cases in Bangladesh after being ousted on August 5 last year following a mass student-led agitation in the country, which forced her to flee Dhaka.</p>
<p>Mamun, the only accused appearing in person, pleaded guilty when produced before the tribunal from custody, prosecutors added.</p>
<p>During the indictment hearing, the former police chief expressed his willingness to make a statement in the prosecution&rsquo;s favour at a later stage. The presiding judge said the tribunal would later decide whether to treat him as an “approver”.</p>
<p>Mamun&rsquo;s lawyer told journalists that the ex-police chief agreed to become a state witness, confessing his role during the violent movement.</p>
<p>The ICT-BD&rsquo;s investigation agency on May 12 filed its report in the case, bringing five charges against the trio.</p>
<p>The prosecution said the charges include the delivery of a provocative speech by Hasina at a press briefing on July 14, 2024, issuing a directive to eliminate the July Movement protesters with the use of helicopters, drones, and lethal weapons by law enforcement agencies.</p>
<p>The three were also accused of issuing directives to law enforcers, collaborating with the Awami League and plotting to kill innocent students and people on August 5 last year in Dhaka’s Chankharpul and Ashulia areas as part of a broader plan to eliminate the protesters to suppress the movement.</p>
<p>The ICT-BD was originally formed during the Awami League regime in 2010 to try the hardened collaborators of Pakistani troops during Bangladesh&rsquo;s 1971 Liberation War on charges of crimes against humanity.</p>
<p>Muhammad Yunus&rsquo;s interim government decided to try Hasina in the same court on identical charges.&nbsp;</p>
<p><em><strong>(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)<br /></strong></em></p>