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The Independent
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Ousted Bangladesh leader's defence lawyer removed over social media post demanding her execution
Bangladesh's international crimes tribunal has removed a state-appointed lawyer for ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina for allegedly demanding her execution. Ms Hasina has been charged with crimes against humanity for her alleged role in the killings of protesters during last year's anti-government protests. She is also facing a contempt of court trial before the tribunal. The tribunal sacked Dhaka-based lawyer Aminul Gani Titu as state defence counsel for Ms Hasina shortly after appointing him to defend the fugitive prime minister. The tribunal said Mr Titu had been removed to "avoid conflict of interest' and to "ensure justice", New Age reported. He was replaced with Amir Hossain to represent Ms Hasina and her federal home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal. The decision came after Ms Hasina's son, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, pointed out that Mr Titu in a Facebook post last year had demanded a death sentence for the former leader. The interim administration headed by Muhammad Yunus"has appointed a lawyer on my mother's behalf" who "himself has demanded the death penalty for my mother on social media", Mr Wazed Joy said on Facebook last week. "This is not a trial. It is a cold-blooded preparation for a farce called a trial where the judicial system is being used as a weapon. I condemn this ridiculous farce of judicial activities.' During Wednesday's proceedings in the contempt case, the tribunal asked Mr Titu whether he had sought the former leader's execution. The lawyer admitted to making the Facebook post last August when the protests against Ms Hasina were raging in the country. The post called for Ms Hasina to be hanged. Mr Titu reportedly told the tribunal the post only reflected his personal opinion and that it would not influence his job. Ms Hasina fled by helicopter to neighbouring India after a student-led protest turned into an anti-government agitation and ended her 15-year authoritarian rule in the South Asian country. She continues to live in Delhi, close to the corridors of power in the Indian capital, evading an extradition bid, while her party members are in Bangladeshi prisons. According to a UN estimate, nearly 1,400 people were killed during the protests between July and August last year after Ms Hasina's Awami League government launched a crackdown on demonstrators in the capital Dhaka. The tribunal found that Ms Hasina 'directly ordered' security forces, her party and affiliated groups to launch operations which resulted in mass casualties. "Upon scrutinising the evidence, we reached the conclusion that it was a coordinated, widespread and systematic attack," Mohammad Tajul Islam, the tribunal's chief prosecutor, said. "The accused unleashed all law enforcement agencies and her armed party members to crush the uprising.' Mr Islam had filed charges against Ms Hasina and two of her officials, who were also charged with "abetment, incitement, complicity, facilitation, conspiracy, and failure to prevent mass murder during the July uprising". Prosecutors argued that Ms Hasina, as head of the government, was responsible for the security operations during the unrest. The tribunal last October issued an arrest warrant for the former prime minister as well as 45 of her ministers, advisors, and military and civil officials.
Free Malaysia Today
17-06-2025
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Bangladesh orders fugitive ex-leader to return to face trial
Sheikh Hasina has defied an extradition order to return to Bangladesh. (AFP pic) DHAKA : Bangladesh's war crimes court ordered fugitive ex-leader Sheikh Hasina today to return to face trial on charges amounting to crimes against humanity. Hasina, 77, fled Dhaka by helicopter to India in August 2024 at the culmination of a student-led mass uprising. She has defied an extradition order to return to Bangladesh. Up to 1,400 people were killed between July and August 2024 when Hasina's government launched a crackdown in a failed bid to cling to power, according to the United Nations. Hasina and former senior figures connected to her ousted government and her now-banned party, the Awami League, are being prosecuted in Bangladesh's international crimes tribunal (ICT). Prosecutors have filed five charges against Hasina, including abetment, incitement, complicity, facilitation, conspiracy and failure to prevent mass murder – charges that amount to crimes against humanity under Bangladeshi law. 'The court directed the prosecution team to issue a notice as soon as possible summoning them to appear before the court,' chief prosecutor Muhammad Tajul Islam said today. The trial will resume on June 24 without her if she fails to return. The prosecution argues that Hasina ordered security forces, through directives from the interior ministry and police, to crush the protests. Hasina is on trial with two other officials. One of them, former interior minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, who faces similar charges, is also a fugitive. The second, ex-police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun, is in custody and was in court today. The prosecution of senior figures from Hasina's government is a key demand of several of the political parties now jostling for power. The interim government has said it will hold elections in April 2026, although some parties are pushing for an earlier vote.
Mint
01-06-2025
- Politics
- Mint
Bangladesh indicts Ex-PM Sheikh Hasina on mass murder charges; trial broadcast on live television
Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) on Sunday formally indicted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and two others on multiple charges, including mass murder, in connection with thier alleged violent crackdown on student-led protests that rocked the nation last year. A three-judge bench of the ICT took cognizance of the charges after prosecutors accused Hasina and her former colleagues of using brutal force against protesters. 'We do hereby take into cognizance the charges,' the three-judge ICT bench said, reported PTI. The tribunal's proceedings, broadcast live on national television for the first time in the country's history, mark the beginning of Hasina's trial in absentia — nearly ten months after her ouster. The court also issued fresh arrest warrants for Hasina and former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal. The third accused, former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, is in custody and will stand trial in person. Sheikh Hasina has been charged with exercising unchecked authority to violently quash the protests, while Kamal and Mamun face accusations of instigating, abetting, and facilitating the crackdown, as per PTI. All three were accused of superior command responsibility for the crimes. Chief Prosecutor Tajul Islam went a step further, urging the tribunal to declare Hasina's Awami League a criminal organisation, claiming the violence was orchestrated on partisan lines. If convicted under the ICT-BD law, the accused could face the death penalty. The trial's start was briefly delayed after three crude bombs were hurled at the tribunal's gates early Sunday morning. Two exploded, while the third was defused. Police are reviewing CCTV footage to identify and arrest the perpetrators. Sheikh Hasina, ousted on August 5, 2024, following the widespread unrest, now faces multiple cases in Bangladesh. A previous arrest warrant led the interim government to formally request her repatriation from India via diplomatic channels. New Delhi has acknowledged the request but has not issued a response. According to a UN human rights report, the protests and subsequent violence between July 15 and August 15 in Bangladesh last year claimed the lives of approximately 1,400 people — including students, civilians, and police personnel.
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Business Standard
01-06-2025
- Politics
- Business Standard
Sheikh Hasina charged with 'crimes against humanity' during 2024 protests
Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and two senior officials have been charged with 'crimes against humanity' by Bangladeshi prosecutors for their alleged roles during the mass protests in July 2024, which led to the ousting of the Awami League leader. The tribunal hearing was broadcast live on state-run BTV — the first such instance in the country's history. According to the Dhaka Tribune, Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) identified Hasina as the "key instigator" behind the mass killings that took place across the country in July and August last year. In addition to Hasina, former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Chowdhury Mamun have also been named as co-accused. On 12 May, investigators submitted a report alleging that Hasina had ordered the killings. ICT Chief Prosecutor Tajul Islam claimed that more than 1,500 individuals were killed, over 25,000 injured, and countless others subjected to torture and other inhumane treatment, The Daily Star reported. Hasina is already facing two additional cases filed with the ICT: one concerning her alleged role in enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings during the Awami League's tenure, and another related to the deaths during the 2013 Hefazat-e-Islam rally at Shapla Chattar in Motijheel. What happened in Bangladesh in July 2024? The unrest was triggered by a Supreme Court decision on 5 June 2024 that reinstated a 30 per cent quota in civil service jobs for descendants of 1971 Liberation War veterans, overturning a 2018 executive order that had abolished such reservations. Many students viewed this as a barrier to merit-based employment, particularly amid high youth unemployment. Initially peaceful demonstrations at Dhaka University and other campuses turned violent following a harsh government crackdown. The situation escalated into what became known as the 'July Massacre', with estimates of over 1,000 deaths. On August 5, 2024, following continued unrest and international pressure, Hasina resigned and fled to India. An interim government was established, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus.
Hans India
01-06-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
Former Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina charged with crimes against humanity
Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been formally charged with crimes against humanity by the country's International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) over her alleged role in the violent nationwide uprising of July 2024, according to local media reports. The charges, which were made public on Sunday, mark a significant turn in the political landscape of Bangladesh, as the trial of the exiled former leader began with live television coverage. Alongside Hasina, former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and former Inspector General of Police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun have also been named co-accused in the case. The tribunal, in its Sunday session, received a formal submission of charges from prosecutors who claimed Hasina was the central figure responsible for instigating the mass violence that engulfed the country during July and August last year. Leading Bangladeshi daily, The Dhaka Tribune, reported that an investigation report submitted on May 12 identified Hasina as having "directly ordered" the killings. The findings allege that she instructed state security forces, members of her political party, and affiliated organisations to execute brutal crackdowns against the growing wave of anti-government protests. "These killings were planned," said Chief Prosecutor of Bangladesh's ICT Mohammad Tajul Islam, during the high-profile televised hearing. He presented video recordings and encrypted communications as evidence, claiming they establish Hasina's orchestration of a "coordinated, widespread and systematic attack." According to the prosecution, Hasina, then serving as the head of government, bore command responsibility for the violent actions carried out by security forces under her leadership during the peak of the unrest. "She unleashed all law enforcement agencies and her armed party members to crush the uprising," Tajul Islam told the tribunal. This development comes weeks after the interim government, currently led by Muhammad Yunus, banned all activities of the Awami League -- Hasina's party -- under the Anti-Terrorism Act. The mass protests, initially sparked in early 2024 by student-led demonstrations opposing a controversial job quota system, quickly morphed into a widespread movement demanding Hasina's resignation. By August 5, facing intense pressure, Hasina stepped down and fled to New Delhi, where she has remained in self-imposed exile. In October 2024, the ICT issued an arrest warrant against her and formally requested her extradition from India.
