A special tribunal in Bangladesh has formally charged former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and two senior officials with crimes against humanity linked to a violent uprising last year, which resulted in the death of nearly 1,400 Bangladeshis.
The panel, led by Justice Golam Mortuza Mozumder, indicted the 77-year-old Hasina on Thursday along with former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan and ex-police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun on five counts. Hasina and Khan are being tried in absentia.
Prosecutors presented a leaked audio recording allegedly featuring Hasina, alongside other evidence. Efforts by Hasina’s legal team to have her and Khan removed from the case were denied.
The tribunal has scheduled the prosecution’s opening statements for August 3, followed by witness testimonies on August 4.
The trial began on June 5 when officials published notices asking Hasina, who has been living in exile in India since last August, and Khan to appear before the court. Bangladesh’s interim administration, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, formally requested Hasina’s extradition from India.
Al-Mamun appeared in court, pleaded guilty, and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors, seeking leniency in return. The tribunal accepted his plea to become an “approver,” a witness who testifies against accomplices.
The charges allege Hasina ordered security forces and party members to commit mass killings, injuries, violence against women and children, burning of bodies, and denial of medical care. She is described as the “mastermind, conductor, and superior commander” of these acts.
Hasina’s political party, the Awami League, strongly criticized the tribunal, calling it a “kangaroo” court and accusing the interim government of misusing the justice system to target opposition members.
Hasina was previously sentenced to six months imprisonment for contempt of court after allegedly stating in a leaked audio recording, “There are 227 cases against me, so I now have a license to kill 227 people.”
Originally established in 2009 by Hasina, the tribunal was tasked with prosecuting crimes committed during Bangladesh’s 1971 independence war against Pakistan, primarily targeting members of the Jamaat-e-Islami party.
Bangladesh won its independence with support from India, led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Hasina’s father and the nation’s founding leader. After a 15-year rule, Hasina was deposed and now remains in exile in India.
