Days before the special tribunal that is trying her is scheduled to render a decision, Sheikh Hasina, the former prime minister of Bangladesh, has denied committing crimes against humanity during a violent crackdown on the uprising that overthrew her last year.
Hasina is charged with masterminding hundreds of murders during the widespread demonstrations against her despotic reign, a charge she refutes. She described her trial in absentia as a “farce” conducted by a “kangaroo court” controlled by her opponents in her first interview with the BBC since leaving the country on August 5, 2024. If Hasina is found guilty on Monday, the prosecution wants to execute her.
Prior to the ruling on Monday, security has been increased in and around the tribunal in the capital city of Dhaka. For the nation and the families of those slain in the student-led anti-government demonstrations that overthrew Hasina, it will be a momentous occasion.
According to UN human rights investigators, Hasina and her government employed systematic, lethal violence against demonstrators in an unsuccessful attempt to maintain power, killing up to 1,400 people.
The former prime minister has declined to come back to the trial from India. In the weeks before her escape, she allegedly personally gave the order for security personnel to open fire on demonstrators.
Also Read:
A ‘Historic’ Peace Agreement Between Thailand and Cambodia is Overseen by Trump
Tesla Shareholders Accepted Elon Musk’s $1 Trillion Pay Agreement
