Bangladesh Tribunal Indicts Former PM Hasina on Mass Murder, Crimes Against Humanity Charges

If convicted, Hasina and the co-accused could face the death penalty

- MPOST BUREAU

DHAKA: Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal on Sunday formally indicted former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and two of her top aides on charges including mass murder and crimes against humanity, marking the beginning of a landmark trial in absentia nearly a year after her government was ousted in a bloody crackdown on student-led protests.

The tribunal, in a dramatic session broadcast live for the first time in the country's history, accused Hasina of ordering a systematic and brutal suppression of the uprising, while issuing fresh arrest warrants against her and her then home minister. If convicted, the three accused could face the death penalty under the ICT-BD law.

"We do hereby take into cognisance the charges," the three-judge ICT-BD bench led by Justice Golam Mortuza Majumdar said after a prosecution team formally accused them of attempting to tame the protests using brutal force.

The tribunal, after hearing a 145-page excerpt during the indictment proceedings, simultaneously issued a fresh arrest warrant against Hasina and Then home minister Asaduzzaman Khan T Kamal.