Five cases were filed for crimes against humanity, including ordering the killing of protesters to suppress the popular uprising in Bangladesh, ordering the use of deadly weapons, helicopters, and drones to control the protests, inciting violence, attempting to destroy evidence, and burning the bodies of students after the murder.
What you should know
Former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed was sentenced to death by the International Criminal Tribunal (ICT) on Monday, finding her guilty of crimes against humanity.
He was charged with five counts of crimes against humanity for suppressing the popular uprising in Bangladesh in July-August last year.
Including ordering the killing of protesters, ordering the use of deadly weapons, helicopters and drones to control the protests, inciting violence, attempting to destroy evidence, and burning the bodies of students after the killings. The case was filed against him while he was living in exile in India.
A three-member tribunal headed by Justice Mohammad Ghulam Murtaza Majumdar convicted Hasina and three others on Monday. Hasina was found guilty on two of the five charges and sentenced to death. She was sentenced to life imprisonment on the other charges. Along with Hasina, former Bangladesh Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal was also sentenced to death. Similarly, former Inspector General of Police Chaudhry Abdullah Al Mamun was sentenced to 5 years in prison. The tribunal also ordered the confiscation of all the properties of Hasina and former Home Minister Kamal.
Hasina, 78, is currently in exile in India. She has been refusing requests to return from India to give a statement. An arrest warrant has also been issued against Hasina. Hasina issued a statement after the verdict, saying that she was being retaliated against. She said that she did not appear for the statement because she was not given a fair hearing. Similarly, she claims that she is trying to control the instability with 'good intentions'. She also accused the government of taking the decision against the democratic mandate of the tribunal.
The tribunal was established in 2010 by the Hasina government. Although the law to establish the tribunal to prosecute those responsible for the violence during the Bangladesh independence struggle was prepared in 1973, its establishment was delayed. Before reading the 453-page verdict, the chairman of the tribunal, Majumdar, had said that the verdict would be delivered in six parts. Majumdar's reading of the verdict was broadcast live on television. Hasina was accused of killing about 1,400 people during the student-led protests that lasted from July 15 to August 5 last year. Local media reported that more than 25,000 were injured in the protests. Hasina's party leader and former Information Minister Mohammad Ali Arafat said the verdict was well-planned. He said that the Awami League and Hasina were being retaliated against, saying, "The story of what happened today in ICT was already prepared. This whole process is just a show."
In politics after her father's assassination
Hasina's father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, is considered the most influential politician in the Bangladesh independence war. While studying in Kolkata, he was involved in the Indian independence movement since 1943. After India's independence, Bengal was divided into two regions, East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and West Bengal (the state of India). In March 1948, Pakistan's Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan announced that Urdu would be implemented as the national language in all parts of Pakistan. This statement sparked outrage in East Pakistan. Then the language movement started at Dhaka University. Finally, on December 16, 1971, Bangladesh was established after secession from Pakistan. Shortly after that, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was elected as the founding president.
On August 15, 1975, Rahman and most of his family members were assassinated. Hasina and her sister Sheikh Rehana survived because they were in India at the time. Alarmed by the growing tension in Bangladesh and the threats against the family, Rahman sent his two daughters there in the first week of August. After the incident, the then Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi arranged safe accommodation for the two sisters.
The military took over the rule of Bangladesh. The sisters, who had little interest in politics before their father's death, gradually began to learn about it. In 1981, Awami League workers and leaders gathered in Delhi and elected Hasina as the party president, a position she still holds to this day. After returning to Bangladesh in 1981, the Awami League led by her launched a campaign for democratic restoration, and party workers fought fearlessly against the military ruler Hussain Muhammad Ershad. Hasina became popular throughout the country.
In 1990, a popular movement succeeded in restoring parliamentary democracy in Bangladesh, and general elections were held in 1991. In these elections, the Bangladesh National Party led by Khaleda Zia (wife of freedom fighter General Ziyur Rahman) narrowly defeated the Awami League. Hasina boycotted parliament for some time, alleging that the elections were rigged. After considerable opposition, Khaleda Zia finally resigned and allowed the interim government to hold elections. In these elections held by the interim government in June 1996, the Awami League won a majority, and Hasina became Prime Minister for the first time.
In the elections she held in July 2001, the Bangladesh National Party again came first, and Khaleda Zia became Prime Minister for the second time. Both women, who carry the legacy of political families, had been polarizing Bangladeshi politics into parties and oppositions. Murders, violence, and bomb blasts had become commonplace in Bangladesh during the power struggle between the two. On August 21, 2004, Hasina herself was the victim of a bomb attack.
However, Hasina's political activism did not diminish. In the elections held in December 2008, 300 out of the total 350 seats in parliament were directly elected. In which Hasina's Awami League won 230 seats, she came back to power. After winning all the elections since then, she remained in power until the movement in 2024. During her tenure, Bangladesh achieved very good economic growth. A large number of textile industries opened. However, in the process, her government imprisoned the opposition and suppressed freedom of expression. Corruption and favoritism of activists flourished.
Since 1972, families who fought in the 1971 independence war had been given special status in Bangladesh. The Hasina government continued to increase this. During the student movement in 2018, 56 percent of government jobs were distributed among children of freedom fighters, women, minorities, and regions. The Ministry of General Administration had issued a circular to government agencies to abolish this quota in order to address the demands of the protesters. However, in June 2024, the High Court declared this circular invalid and restored the old quota system.
Youth started protesting against this court decision, demanding opportunities based on merit. However, the Hasina government did not take the demands of the youth seriously this time. Because the families who fought in the freedom struggle were the main support base of the Awami League. The movement against the Hasina government intensified. The United Nations report also showed that more than 1,400 people were killed and thousands were injured during the movement. The report states that most of the deaths were due to gunfire by security personnel. After the July Revolution, he had to flee to India on 5 August 2024.
