Bangladesh beefs up security ahead of verdict on Hasina

Bangladesh was on edge on Sunday ahead of a tribunal's verdict on Monday in a case of crimes against humanity against former premier Sheikh Hasina, with additional security forces deployed in Dhaka amid a two-day lockdown called by her Awami League Party.

- Rezaul Laskar

Security personnel stand guard ahead of the court's verdict in Dhaka on Sunday.

(AFP)

Hasina, 78, has lived in selfexile in India since she fled Bangladesh following the ouster of her government in August last year after weeks of protests led by student groups. She was tried in absentia by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), a domestic war crimes court, on charges related to a violent crackdown on protests in mid-2024.

Bangladesh's de facto home minister Lt Gen Mohammad Jahangir Alam Chowdhury (retired) said on Sunday any verdict delivered by the tribunal against Hasina on November 17 will be carried out. “I do not know what the tribunal will decide but whatever the verdict may be, it will be implemented and people will abide by it,” he told reporters.