Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) has indicted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and two senior officials over alleged crimes against humanity linked to a deadly crackdown on protesters during last July’s uprising.
A three-member panel, headed by Justice Golam Mortuza Mozumder, indicted Hasina, former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, and former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun on five charges.
Although the ousted prime minister and Khan are being tried in absentia, Al-Mamun appeared before the court and remains in custody, as the other two have already fled abroad to avoid prosecution.
The former police chief, who was arrested and appeared before the panel on Thursday, pleaded guilty and informed the tribunal that he would make a statement in favor of the prosecution at a later stage.
Responding to the panel’s decision, Hasina’s Awami League party condemned the trial process and described the tribunal as a “kangaroo court.”
The tribunal opened the trial on June 5, prompting authorities to publish newspaper advertisements requesting Hasina, who has been in exile in India, and Khan to appear before the court.
Bangladesh’s interim government, headed by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, has formally requested India to extradite Hasina, though India has yet to respond.
Meanwhile, the Chief Prosecutor, Mohammed Islam, stated that any sentence delivered in absentia will take effect if Hasina is arrested or voluntarily returns to Bangladesh.
Proceedings are set to begin on August 3 with opening statements, followed by the first witness testimony.
Hasina, who fled to India following a student-led uprising last August, faces multiple charges.
The former prime minister, who has lived in self-imposed exile since being deposed after a 15-year rule, has dismissed the tribunal as politically motivated.
