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CNN
03-07-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Bangladesh ex-PM Hasina gets six-month prison sentence in absentia
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, a top prosecutor said. 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
03-07-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Bangladesh ex-PM Hasina gets six-month prison sentence in absentia
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, a top prosecutor said. 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.
Al Jazeera
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Bangladesh ex-PM Hasina sentenced to six months in contempt case
Bangladesh's self-exiled former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been sentenced to six months in prison for contempt of court by the country's International Crimes Tribunal (ICT). The three-member tribunal, headed by Justice Golam Mortuza Mozumder, handed down the verdict in Hasina's absence on Wednesday. The sentence will take effect upon her arrest or voluntary surrender, Chief Prosecutor Muhammad Tajul Islam told reporters. Hasina, who fled to India following a student-led uprising last August, faces several charges. This marks the first time she has received a formal sentence in any of the cases. Shakil Akand Bulbul, a senior figure in the Awami League's banned student wing, Chhatra League, was also sentenced to two months in the same case. The contempt charges stem from an audio recording in which Hasina was allegedly heard saying, 'There are 227 cases against me, so I now have a licence to kill 227 people.' A government forensic report later confirmed the tape's authenticity. The ICT was established in 2010 by Hasina's own government to prosecute war crimes committed during the country's 1971 independence war. It has since been repurposed by the interim government, led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, to pursue allegations of rights violations and corruption under Hasina's rule. The tribunal has issued three arrest warrants for Hasina, including charges of crimes against humanity linked to the crackdown on the student-led protests last year, which toppled her government. Her Awami League party remains banned, with ongoing trials against former officials. Hasina's supporters insist the cases are politically motivated, describing them as part of a broader effort to silence opposition. However, the caretaker government argues the legal process is necessary to restore public trust in the country's institutions and ensure accountability.
Scroll.in
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Scroll.in
Sheikh Hasina sentenced to six months in prison for contempt of court
Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal on Wednesday sentenced former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to six months in prison for contempt of court over her remarks that were considered to obstruct judicial proceedings, The Daily Star reported. The verdict was delivered by a three-member bench of the tribunal that looked at a leaked phone call between Hasina and former Chhatra League leader Shakil Akanda Bulbul. The Chhatra League is the banned student wing of Hasina's Awami League party. The purported conversation, which was shared on social media last year, features Hasina allegedly saying: 'I have had 227 cases filed against me, so I have received a licence to kill 227 people'. The tribunal ruled that the comment showed contempt for the judiciary and was intended to undermine legal processes, The Daily Star reported. Bulbul has also been sentenced to two months in jail. The sentences will come into effect when the persons either surrender or are taken into custody, The Dhaka Tribune reported. The matter was brought before the tribunal on April 30 by Chief Prosecutor Tajul Islam, who argued that the statement could intimidate witnesses and victims involved in trials related to alleged crimes against humanity connected to the July 2024 protests. A forensic report by a government investigative agency had confirmed that the voice in the clip was that of Hasina, Reuters reported. Following this, the tribunal instructed Hasina and Bulbul to submit written explanations by May 25. Neither of them complied. The court issued summons through public notices in two national newspapers, calling for their appearance or a response from Hasina's legal team by June 3. Since Hasina did not respond or appear before the court, the tribunal proceeded to sentence her in absentia. This is the first time that the ousted prime minister has been sentenced in any case since she fled the country in August 2024, according to Reuters. On June 1, Hasina was also charged by the tribunal with crimes against humanity allegedly committed during the protests against her government in July and August last year. She has been charged with having instigated mass killings during the protests. Hasina had resigned as the prime minister and fled to India on August 5, 2024, after several weeks of widespread student-led protests against her government. She had been in power for 16 years. Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel laureate economist, took over as chief adviser of Bangladesh's interim government three days later.
India Today
13-05-2025
- Politics
- India Today
Storm in Bangladesh as ex-President leaves for Thailand in lungi on 3 am flight
Bangladesh's former President Mohammad Abdul Hamid boarded a Thai Airways flight from the Dhaka international airport at 3am and left the country as most Bangladeshis were in a deep sleep. As the interim government woke up and found what had happened, it suspended and transferred officials and constituted a high-level probe. Former president Hamid was among those being probed for the measures taken against protesters during the anti-Sheikh Hasina agitation last Hamid served as the President of Bangladesh for two terms -- from 2013 to 2023. He is also a co-accused in at least one case of murder filed against ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her aides from the agitation period in 2024. The Hasina regime was accused of opening fire and killing protesters who were out to oust 81-year-old former president is an accused in the murder case filed at Kishoreganj Sadar police station on January 14, according to the Dhaka Tribune, with Hasina, and her family members, like Sheikh Rehana, Sajeeb Wazed Joy and Saima Wazed Putul, being the co-accused. Former minister Obaidul Quader is also a co-accused in the case. The interim government of Muhammad Yunus has formed a high-level committee led by Education Adviser CR Abrar to investigate the departure of former President Abdul Hamid to Thailand, according to news agency United News of officers have been suspended and transferred as Hamid left, according to Indian Bangla dailies, Pratidin and Bartaman, in a lungi, for Thailand. His family members say he left with his brother and brother-in-law for medical treatment, but his political opponents say that he has fled to escape being tried in Students Against Discrimination (SAD), the outfit that launched the anti-reservation stir that took the shape of the anti-Hasina protests. The students' outfit demanded punitive measures against the people who were to blame for letting Hamid leave within 24 hours, according to news agency politician Hannan Masud claimed that Hamid's fleeing the country was managed with the permission of those in power, especially President Mohammed Shahabuddin Chuppu, so that he could avoid being tried, according to a report in Amader becoming the President of Bangladesh, Abdul Hamid was a Member of Parliament from Hasina's Awami League party. He had, in fact, started his political journey with the student wing of the Awami League -- the Chhatra League. The Chhatra League has been banned by the interim government of Yunus in October house was among those demolished by fundamentalists and Islamic radicals during the Bulldozer Programme in February, when even the Dhanmondi 32 house (turned into a museum) of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was former president's leaving the country comes even as the interim government of Muhammad Yunus banned the Awami League last Monday, a gazette notification was released, officially banning Hasina's Awami League under a revised anti-terrorism law. Bangladesh's election commission has also announced that it has cancelled the registration of the Awami League, barring it from contesting in 1949, the Awami League led the movement for the autonomy of Bengalis in the then East Pakistan for decades and eventually led to the Liberation War in Hasina and several other Awami League leaders forced into exile, former President Hamid's leaving for Thailand has raised a storm as there are many who would have wanted him to be tried and punished in Watch
