- DHAKA — 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- Leading Bangladeshi daily, The Dhaka Tribune, reported that
an investigation report submitted on May 12 identified Hasina as having
"directly ordered" the killings.
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- 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.
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- "These killings were planned," said Chief
Prosecutor of Bangladesh's ICT Mohammad Tajul Islam, during the high-profile
televised hearing.
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- He presented video recordings and encrypted communications
as evidence, claiming they establish Hasina's orchestration of a "coordinated,
widespread and systematic attack."
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- 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.
