Bangladesh ex-PM Sheikh Hasina gets six-month prison sentence in absentia
Hasina has been facing multiple cases since she fled to India after deadly student-led protests in August, but it was the first time the former leader was sentenced in one of them.
Shakil Akand Bulbul, a leader of the Awami League party's banned student wing Chhatra League, was also sentenced to two months in prison in the same case, Chief Prosecutor Muhammad Tajul Islam told reporters. The party had been led by Hasina for years.
A three-member ICT tribunal, led by Justice Golam Mortuza Mozumder, delivered the verdict in their absence, noting that the sentences will take effect upon arrest or surrender, the prosecutor added.
The contempt charges stem from a leaked phone recording where Hasina was allegedly heard saying, 'there are 227 cases against me, so I now have a licence to kill 227 people.'
A forensic report by a government investigative agency later confirmed the audio's authenticity.The ICT was originally set up in 2010 by Hasina's own government to try 1971 war crimes.Bangladesh's interim administration, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, pledged to hold leaders, including Hasina, accountable for rights abuses and corruption, including the crackdown on the student-led uprising last July that toppled Hasina's regime.The tribunal has so far issued three arrest warrants for Hasina, including charges of crimes against humanity linked to the July violence. Hasina's Awami League party remains banned while trials continue against the party and its former leaders.Supporters of Hasina dismiss the charges as politically motivated, but the interim government insists the trials are crucial for restoring accountability and rebuilding trust in Bangladesh's democratic institutions. — CNN
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Saudi Gazette
a day ago
- Saudi Gazette
Bangladesh ex-PM Sheikh Hasina gets six-month prison sentence in absentia
DHAKA — Bangladesh's ousted and self-exiled Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was sentenced to six months in prison by the country's International Crimes Tribunal on Wednesday in a contempt of court case. Hasina has been facing multiple cases since she fled to India after deadly student-led protests in August, but it was the first time the former leader was sentenced in one of them. Shakil Akand Bulbul, a leader of the Awami League party's banned student wing Chhatra League, was also sentenced to two months in prison in the same case, Chief Prosecutor Muhammad Tajul Islam told reporters. The party had been led by Hasina for years. A three-member ICT tribunal, led by Justice Golam Mortuza Mozumder, delivered the verdict in their absence, noting that the sentences will take effect upon arrest or surrender, the prosecutor added. The contempt charges stem from a leaked phone recording where Hasina was allegedly heard saying, 'there are 227 cases against me, so I now have a licence to kill 227 people.' A forensic report by a government investigative agency later confirmed the audio's ICT was originally set up in 2010 by Hasina's own government to try 1971 war interim administration, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, pledged to hold leaders, including Hasina, accountable for rights abuses and corruption, including the crackdown on the student-led uprising last July that toppled Hasina's tribunal has so far issued three arrest warrants for Hasina, including charges of crimes against humanity linked to the July violence. Hasina's Awami League party remains banned while trials continue against the party and its former of Hasina dismiss the charges as politically motivated, but the interim government insists the trials are crucial for restoring accountability and rebuilding trust in Bangladesh's democratic institutions. — CNN
Al Arabiya
2 days ago
- Al Arabiya
Bangladesh Tribunal Sentences Hasina to Jail for Contempt Over a Claim She Had a License to Kill
A special tribunal has sentenced Bangladesh's former leader Sheikh Hasina to six months in jail after she was found in contempt of court for allegedly claiming she had a license to kill at least 227 people. Wednesday's sentence was the first in any case against Hasina since she fled to India during a mass uprising last year that toppled her 15-year rule. The contempt case stemmed from a leaked audio recording of a supposed phone conversation between Hasina and a leader of the student wing of her political party. A person alleged to be Hasina is heard on the audio saying, 'There are 227 cases against me, so I now have a license to kill 227 people.' The Criminal Investigation Department confirmed the audio's authenticity through forensic analysis. The recording showed Hasina's anger at the charges of murder and numerous other crimes against her under the interim administration of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, who vowed to punish Hasina and her top aides for the deaths of hundreds of people in the uprising against her. The sentencing by the Dhaka-based International Crimes Tribunal came as a trial against her being held in absentia on charges of crimes against humanity began in June. The tribunal had ordered Hasina and her former home minister to respond by May 15. When they failed to do so, the tribunal summoned them May 25 to appear in court June 16. Later, the tribunal asked for notices to be published in newspapers asking Hasina to appear. The prosecution said later neither of the suspects appeared before the court or explained their absence through a lawyer. 'In such circumstances, the tribunal has the authority to issue a sentence under the law.' Hasina and her Awami League party had earlier criticized the tribunal and its prosecution team for their connection with political parties, especially with the Jamaat-e-Islami party. The Yunus-led government has banned the former ruling Awami League party and amended laws to allow for the party to be prosecuted for its role during the uprising. In February, the UN human rights office estimated that up to 1,400 people may have been killed in Bangladesh over three weeks in the crackdown on the student-led protests against Hasina, who was the country's longest-serving prime minister. The tribunal was established by Hasina in 2009 to investigate and try crimes involving Bangladesh's independence war in 1971. The tribunal under Hasina tried politicians, mostly from the Jamaat-e-Islami party, for their actions during the nine-month war against Pakistan. Aided by India, Bangladesh gained independence from Pakistan under the leadership of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Hasina's father and the country's first leader.
Arab News
23-06-2025
- Arab News
Bangladesh probe into Hasina-era abuses warns ‘impunity' remains
DHAKA: A Bangladesh government-appointed commission investigating hundreds of disappearances by the security forces under ousted premier Sheikh Hasina on Monday warned that the same 'culture of impunity' continues. The Commission of Inquiry into Enforced Disappearances is probing abuses during the rule of Hasina, whose government was accused of widespread human rights abuses. That includes the extrajudicial killing of hundreds of political opponents and the unlawful abduction and disappearance of hundreds more. The commission was established by interim leader, Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, 84, who is facing intense political pressure as parties jostle for power ahead of elections expected early next year. Bangladesh has a long history of military coups and the army retains a powerful role. 'Enforced disappearances in Bangladesh were not isolated acts of wrongdoing, but the result of a politicized institutional machinery that condoned, normalized, and often rewarded such crimes,' the commission said, in a section of a report released by the interim government on Monday. 'Alarmingly, this culture of impunity continues even after the regime change on August 5, 2024.' The commission has verified more than 250 cases of enforced disappearances spanning the 15 years that Hasina's Awami League was in power. Commission chief Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury said earlier this month that responsibility lay with individual officers, who were 'involved in conducting enforced disappearances,' but not the armed forces as an institution. Earlier this month, a joint statement by rights groups — including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch — called on the security forces to 'fully cooperate with the commission by guaranteeing unfettered and ongoing access to all detention centers... and providing free access to records regarding those seized or detained.' Hasina,77, remains in self-imposed exile in India, where she fled after she was ousted last year. She has defied orders to return to Dhaka to face charges amounting to crimes against humanity. Her trial in absentia continues.
