Bangladesh tribunal indicts former leader Sheikh Hasina over protester deaths

The Associated Press

· Posted: Jul 10, 2025 10:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

A peculiar tribunal indicted Bangladesh's ousted premier curate Sheikh Hasina connected Thursday by accepting charges of crimes against humanity filed against her successful transportation with a wide uprising successful which hundreds of students were killed past year.

A three-member panel, headed by Justice Golam Mortuza Mozumder, indicted Hasina, erstwhile location curate Asaduzzaman Khan and erstwhile constabulary main Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun connected 5 charges. Hasina and Khan are being tried successful absentia.

Filing 5 charges, the prosecution argued Hasina was straight liable for ordering each authorities forces, her Awami League enactment and its associates to transportation retired actions starring to wide killings, injuries, targeted unit against women and children, the incineration of bodies and denial of aesculapian attraction to the wounded.

The charges picture Hasina, 77, as the "mastermind, conductor and superior commander" of the atrocities.

WATCH l A caller administration, but galore challenges for Bangladesh: 

The interim authorities has already banned the Awami League enactment and amended applicable laws to let the proceedings of the erstwhile ruling enactment for its relation during the uprising.

In February, the UN quality rights bureau estimated up to 1,400 radical whitethorn person been killed successful Bangladesh implicit 3 weeks of crackdowns connected the student-led protests against Hasina and 2 weeks aft her autumn connected Aug. 5.

The tribunal opened the proceedings June 5 and asked Hasina, in exile successful India since her ouster, to appear.

Bangladesh's interim government, headed by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, sent a ceremonial petition to India for Hasina's extradition but India has not responded.

Al-Mamun was arrested and was successful the dock Thursday portion the judges indicted them. Al-Mamun pleaded blameworthy and told the tribunal that helium would marque a connection successful favour of the prosecution astatine a aboriginal stage.

Trial acceptable for adjacent month

The prosecution offered a leaked audio of Hasina and different documents arsenic grounds to the tribunal. BBC earlier this week said it had obtained audio, which they published and broadcast, successful which she appeared to authorize the information forces to usage lethal unit if necessary. 

Amir Hossain, a lawyer appointed by the authorities for Hasina and Khan, appeared astatine Thursday's proceeding and filed a petition to driblet their names from the case, but the tribunal rejected the plea.

WATCH l How the Hasina government fell (from 2024): 

The tribunal aboriginal fixed Aug. 3 for the opening connection by the prosecution and Aug. 4 for signaling witnesser statements.

Earlier this month, the tribunal sentenced Hasina to six months successful jailhouse aft she was recovered successful contempt of tribunal for allegedly claiming she had a licence to termination astatine slightest 227 people.

That case stemmed from a leaked audio signaling of a expected telephone speech betwixt Hasina and a person of the pupil helping of her governmental party. A idiosyncratic alleged to beryllium Hasina is heard connected the audio saying, "There are 227 cases against me, truthful I present person a licence to termination 227 people."

The tribunal was established by Hasina successful 2009 to analyse and effort crimes involving Bangladesh's independency warfare against Pakistan successful 1971. The tribunal nether Hasina tried politicians, mostly from the Jamaat-e-Islami party, for their actions during the nine-month war.

Aided by India, Bangladesh gained independency from Pakistan nether the enactment of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Hasina's begetter and the country's archetypal leader.

Hasina herself was person for 15 years, a tenure marked by economical improvement but besides accusations of quality rights abuses. Her medication was accused of unfairly muzzling opposition politicians, and sometimes held elections that were deemed neither escaped nor fair.

Hasina and her Awami League enactment antecedently criticized the tribunal and its prosecution squad for connections to governmental parties, particularly Jamaat-e-Islami.