Security implications of the Hasina verdict

Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) sentenced its former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to death, in absentia, after finding them guilty of crimes against humanity during the student led protests of July-August last year. Official records mention that over 1,400 were killed and thousands injured during the riots. Former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, who turned approver in the case, was given a jail term of five years. Sheikh Hasina was forced to flee to India in August last year and has remained here since.

- HARSHA KAKAR

While the judgement was met with cheers and jubilation by those who were anti-Hasina including the Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) and its associates, and the BNP (Bangladesh Nationalist Party), there were protests by members of Sheikh Hasina's Awami League, as they termed the trial and the judgement as political vendetta. Even Sheikh Hasina made similar comments. The process adopted by the ICT raised doubts about the fairness of their judgement.

Amnesty International, which at one time had demanded action against those behind the deaths in the protests, now questioned the manner in which the trial was conducted. A statement issued by Amnesty says, "this trial has been conducted before a court that Amnesty International has long criticized for its lack of independence and history of unfair proceedings. Further, the unprecedented speed of this trial in absentia and verdict raises significant fair trial concerns for a case of this scale and complexity."

It is also possible that the death penalty was in retaliation to the execution of a number of members of JeI for 'genocide and crimes against humanity committed while collaborating with Pakistani forces during the 1971 Liberation War,' by the same ICT, albeit with different members.

India has been cautious in its response. The MEA mentioned in a statement, "As a close neighbour, India remains committed to the best interests of the people of Bangladesh, including in peace, democracy, inclusion and stability in that country. We will always engage constructively with all stakeholders to that end." It is aware that demands for her extradition would now increase and they have. The world has largely ignored the verdict, other than the UN which reiterated its opposition to the death penalty.