The trial against former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina began in Dhaka on Sunday, with the fugitive former leader being accused of crimes against humanity. Hasina was ousted in a student-led uprising last year, with the nationwide unrest ending with her fleeing Bangladesh and finding refuge in neighboring India.
She has since to return to Dhaka.
The trial against Hasina is being held in absentia by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT). The officials are focusing on her which marked the end of her 15-year rule.
What did prosecutors say about Sheikh Hasina?
“Upon scrutinising the evidence, we reached the conclusion that it was a coordinated, widespread and systematic attack,” ICT chief prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam told the court in his opening speech.
“The accused unleashed all law enforcement agencies and her armed party members to crush the uprising.”
Prosecutors have accused Hasina of directing the violent crackdown, including ordering the killing of student protester Abu Sayeed, the first to be killed during the uprising.
The prosecution has listed five charges against Hasina and several other top officials from her government, including “abetment, incitement, complicity, facilitation, conspiracy, and failure to prevent mass murder during the July uprising.”
Islam said the charges amounted to “crimes against humanity.”
How has Sheikh Hasina responded to the charges?
Hasina claims the charges against her are politically motivated. Her party, the Awami League, was .
Islam vowed the trial would be impartial, saying: “This is not an act of vendetta but a commitment to the principle that, in a democratic country, there is no room for crimes against humanity.”
Sunday’s trial also included ex-police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun, who is in custody but was not in court on the opening day, and former Interior Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal who is on the run, presumed to also be in India.
The ICT was first set up by Hasina in 2009 to investigate crimes carried out by the in 1971.
During her rule, Hasina allegedly used the ICT to eliminate politicial opponents, having sentenced several prominent rivals to death.
Edited by: Darko Janjevic
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