Deposed prime minister and others are indicted for crimes in opposition to humanity, with trial set for August.
Bangladesh’s Worldwide Crimes Tribunal (ICT) has indicted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and two senior officers over alleged crimes in opposition to humanity linked to a lethal crackdown on protesters throughout final yr’s July rebellion.
The tribunal, led by Justice Golam Mortuza Mozumder and comprising justices Shafiul Alam Masud and Mohitul Enam Chowdhury, formally charged Hasina on Thursday.
Proceedings will start on August 3 with opening statements, adopted by the primary witness testimony.
Hasina, who fled to India following a student-led rebellion final August, had been facing several charges. Earlier this month, in a separate ruling, she was sentenced to 6 months in jail for contempt of court docket by the ICT. That had marked the primary time she had acquired a proper sentence in any of the circumstances.
Chief Prosecutor Muhammad Tajul Islam mentioned that the sentence delivered in absentia will take impact if Hasina is arrested or voluntarily returns to Bangladesh.
The 2 different accused on Thursday are former residence minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah al-Mamun. Whereas al-Mamun appeared earlier than the court docket and stays in custody, each Hasina and Kamal have fled overseas.
The costs stem from Hasina’s now ousted authorities’s violent response to mass demonstrations, which critics say resulted in widespread human rights abuses and tons of of deaths.
Hasina, who now lives in self-imposed exile in India after being deposed following a 15-year rule, has dismissed the tribunal as politically motivated.
