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Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) sentenced former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to death on Monday after finding her guilty of crimes against humanity in connection with last July’s demonstrations.
The court also condemned Hasina and two of her senior advisers, former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and former Inspector General of Police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun.
Mamun has been granted a pardon, but the court has stated that, given the gravity of the crimes, he will get a “lenient sentence”.
The former leader’s punishment remains pending, as the 453-page ruling is still being read.
Hasina has so far refused to return to South Asia to face prosecution, defying the court’s orders. Asaduzzaman is currently a fugitive, but Mamun is in detention and has admitted guilt.
Notably, Mamun has become a state witness, making him the first accused to do so since the tribunal’s inception in 2010.
The ruling was carried live by Bangladesh Television (BTV) from the ICT courtroom, where the three-member Tribunal-1, led by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Majumder, was delivering the decision.
According to the main Bangladeshi daily, The Dhaka Tribune, the formal charge documents are 8,747 pages long and include references, confiscated evidence, and a thorough list of victims.
Prosecutors have charged the accused with five counts, including failure to prevent murder, which is considered a crime against humanity under Bangladeshi law. They want the death punishment if the defendants are found guilty.
In addition, the prosecutors sought that the tribunal take the three defendants’ assets upon conviction and distribute them to the victims’ relatives.
However, Hasina has always refuted all claims.
Meanwhile, Dhaka is under unprecedented security measures after Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Sheikh Md Sajjat Ali issued a’shoot-at-sight order’ on Sunday evening, targeting individuals involved in arson attacks, cocktail explosions, or attempts to harm police and civilians ahead of the ICT verdict.
The two-day strike called by Hasina’s Awami League on November 16-17 coincided with a rise in cocktail blasts and arson attacks across the capital.
At least 21 Awami League leaders and workers, who are currently forbidden from engaging in political activities, were captured during special operations in Narayanganj in the previous 36 hours, according to The Daily Star, a leading Bangladeshi newspaper.
Source: IANS
