Latest news with #AwamiLeague
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
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.
Economist
2 days ago
- Business
- Economist
Chinese brands are sweeping the world. Good
Leaders | The new ambassadors Photograph: Getty Images A sk a Westerner for an example of a successful Chinese consumer-goods brand, and until recently most would have struggled. Although China is the world's premier manufacturing power, it has long lagged behind when it comes to imaginative home-grown retail brands and products, even as its factories have cranked out vast numbers of them for foreign companies. This is now changing. Innovative Chinese brands are popping up everywhere. Consumers and investors around the world stand to benefit As they spend big, politicians must resist using one pot of money to achieve many goals The Awami League has a dire record. But voters should have a free choice After the bombs should come a plan to reset the region Donald Trump's health secretary undermines global public health, too How to prevent an inferno in the Middle East A rosé-soaked meeting in Cannes is like a postcard from the future
NDTV
4 days ago
- Politics
- NDTV
Hearing In Sheikh Hasina's Crimes Against Humanity Case On July 1
Dhaka: The indictment hearing in the crimes against humanity case against Bangladesh's deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina has been set for July 1, the country's crimes tribunal announced on Tuesday. The cases are against Hasina, former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and former inspector general of police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun for their role in the July-August mass uprising last year, state-run BSS reported. A three-member bench of the crimes tribunal, led by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder, passed the order after the accused failed to appear before the court despite a notice seeking their surrender. Hasina, whose nearly 16-year Awami League regime was toppled last year in a student-led uprising on August 5, forcing her to leave the country for India, was accused of mass killings during the uprising and enforced disappearances earlier in the tribunal. State defence counsel would be appointed to represent Hasina and Kamal before the court, the tribunal stated. "...as per rule 31 of the International Crimes (Tribunal-1) Rules of Procedure 2010 (Amendment), 2025, they are hereby ordered to surrender at this tribunal on 24 June 2025. Otherwise, the trial will be held in their absence as per section 10A of the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act, 1973," the report cited the notice seeking the surrender as stating. The prosecution in the formal charge brought five charges against Hasina, Kamal and Al-Mamun and the crime tribunal's investigation agency filed its probe report in the crimes against humanity and mass killing case on May 12, according to the report.
Hans India
4 days ago
- Politics
- Hans India
B'desh: Awami League condemns brutal assault on family members of party supporter
The Awami League on Tuesday condemned a brutal assault on a Union member's entire family in Bagerhat district of Bangladesh by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) due to his support for the former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's party. 'In Bagerhat's Bemorta Union, BNP terrorists unleashed a savage rampage on the family of Saheb Ali, a local Union Member simply because of his support for the Awami League. Failing to find Saheb Ali at home, the attackers slashed and hacked his entire family. His elder son Riyad and younger son Rajib had the tendons of their legs severed, while his wife's arm tendons were cut. Their entire house was set on fire and reduced to ashes,' read a statement issued by the Awami League. The Awami League highlighted that the area now stands as a grim witness to 'BNP's fire-terror and machete violence.' 'How much longer will the nation endure BNP's reign of blood, fire, and fear? The people of Bangladesh demand justice. These killers must be held accountable — and peace must be restored to this land through decisive punishment,' the Awami League remarked. In a separate development, earlier on Monday the Awami League mentioned that in the Monirampur Upazila of Jessore district in Bangladesh, their party activist Subrata Deb Nath has become the latest victim of a savage attack by Jubo Dal, the youth wing of the BNP. The party stated that the victim is now fighting for his life in the ICU. 'The attack took place around 9 PM at Subrata's residence in Bakoshpol village, Monirampur Sadar Union (Ward-6), Jessore. Led by Jubo Dal (BNP's youth wing) leader Rahim, a group of 10–12 armed assailants stormed the house with machetes, Chinese axes, and hammers, launching a sudden and violent assault. They also looted Bangladeshi taka 40,000 in cash and a gold chain before fleeing the scene,' the Awami League stated. Revealing that this horrific act is not an isolated incident, the Awami League said that BNP-Jubo Dal is systematically unleashing 'terror and chaos' across the country through coordinated attacks on Awami League activists. 'Their actions are not only criminal—they are part of a deep-rooted conspiracy to eliminate Awami League's presence and destabilise Bangladesh," said the party.
The Hindu
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Bangladesh probe into Hasina-era abuses warns 'impunity' remains
A Bangladesh government-appointed commission investigating hundreds of disappearances by the security forces under ousted premier Sheikh Hasina on Monday (June 23, 2025) warned that the same "culture of impunity" continues. The Commission of Inquiry into Enforced Disappearances is probing abuses during the rule of Ms. 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 politicised institutional machinery that condoned, normalised, 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 Ms. 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 centres... and providing free access to records regarding those seized or detained". Ms. 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.
