DHAKA – A special tribunal in Bangladesh has indicted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on charges of crimes against humanity related to last year’s violent crackdown on student protests. The tribunal accused her of masterminding state-led actions that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of protesters.
The three-member tribunal, led by Justice Golam Mortuza Mozumder, also indicted former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan and ex-police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun. Hasina and Khan are being tried in absentia, while Al-Mamun appeared in court and pleaded guilty, offering to cooperate with the prosecution.
Authorities issued public notices asking Hasina, now in exile in India since August 5, to return and face trial. Bangladesh’s interim government, headed by Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, has requested her extradition from India, but New Delhi has yet to respond.
During Thursday’s hearing, the tribunal rejected a plea to remove Hasina and Khan’s names from the case. The prosecution presented leaked audio, alleged to feature Hasina ordering the crackdown, and other documents as key evidence. The court scheduled the prosecution’s opening statement for August 3 and will begin recording witness testimonies on August 4.
The charges paint Hasina as the “mastermind” behind the violence, accusing her of ordering attacks on students, mass killings, and targeting women and children. The interim government has since banned the Awami League and changed laws to allow its prosecution for its role during the uprising.
This indictment follows a six-month contempt sentence handed to Hasina earlier this month for allegedly claiming a “license to kill.” The controversial tribunal, originally established by Hasina in 2009 to prosecute 1971 war crimes, is now turning its focus on her own government’s alleged abuses.