Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal on Thursday framed charges against ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and two others in a case relating to alleged crimes against humanity committed during the July 2024 protests, reported The Daily Star.

Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, who was the home minister at the time of the protests, and former Inspector General of Police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun were also charged in the matter.

Al-Mamun was present in court, but Hasina and Kamal are being tried in absentia. Al-Mamun told the court that he wanted to become a state witness, reported The Dhaka Tribune.

Advertisement

The tribunal will hear the prosecution’s arguments on August 3 and August 4.

Hasina had resigned as the prime minister and fled to India on August 5, 2024, after several weeks of widespread student-led protests against her government. She had been in power for 16 years.

On June 1, the tribunal had taken cognisance of the charges against her. She has been charged with having instigated mass killings during the protests.

In February, a United Nations report on the violence said that the Hasina government, the country’s security and intelligence services and “violent elements” associated with her Awami League party had “systematically engaged in a range of serious human rights violations” during the agitation in July and August 2024.

Advertisement

Of the 1,400 killed and thousands injured between July 1, 2024, and August 15, 2024, the vast majority were shot by Bangladesh’s security forces, the UN report said. Of these, 12% to 13% killed were children.

Hasina has denied the allegations and claimed that she is being politically persecuted.

On July 2, the tribunal sentenced Hasina to six months in prison for contempt of court over her remarks that were considered to obstruct judicial proceedings. This was the first time that she had been sentenced in any case since she fled the country.

Also read: