Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal is set to deliver on Tuesday its second major verdict against seven senior leaders of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s now-disbanded Awami League, 10 months after sentencing her to death in absentia. An ICT-BD official said, “The three-member tribunal, headed by Justice Nazrul Islam Chowdhury, fixed the date through a short order on Monday.”
The seven leaders were tried in absentia over crimes against humanity allegedly committed during the violent student-led protests of 2024, known as the July Uprising, which eventually led to the ouster of Hasina’s government on August 5 that year. All of them were represented by state-appointed lawyers selected by the tribunal.
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The accused include Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader, joint general secretary AFM Bahauddin Nasim and former state minister for information Mohammad Arafat. The prosecution has accused the seven of directing or inciting violence against protesters and alleged that they issued instructions and made inflammatory statements to suppress the demonstrations. Prosecutors also claimed that they held meetings where plans for violence were discussed.
According to the prosecution, the leaders were involved in armed attacks, severe repression and attempts to control the media, and were responsible for killings, attempted killings and widespread violence in different parts of the country. The tribunal completed hearings on the prosecution and defence arguments on August 17 and reserved its verdict, about eight months after formally framing charges against the accused.
The verdict is due nearly a year after the tribunal sentenced Hasina and her former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to death in absentia on November 17 last year for crimes against humanity linked to the crackdown on the student protests. The tribunal had found Hasina guilty of allowing lethal force to be used against protesters. A UN rights office fact-finding mission, which examined violence between July 15 and August 15, 2024, including retaliatory attacks on police personnel and Awami League activists after the fall of the government, estimated that about 1,400 people were killed during the unrest.
Hasina’s death sentence drew criticism from international rights groups and legal experts over the fairness and procedures of the trial. Amnesty International said the verdict “compounds human rights violations” rather than delivering justice, while Human Rights Watch criticised the tribunal for not allowing Hasina to be represented by a lawyer of her own choosing. Legal critics and political opponents have also accused the interim government headed by Muhammad Yunus of using the tribunal for a political vendetta rather than impartial justice.
The ICT-BD was originally set up by the Awami League government to prosecute people accused of collaborating with Pakistani forces during Bangladesh’s 1971 Liberation War. The interim government later amended its mandate to allow the prosecution of Awami League leaders over alleged crimes during the 2024 unrest. Since the fall of the Hasina-led government, several thousand cases have been filed across Bangladesh against Awami League leaders, ministers, lawmakers and activists, though most are yet to reach trial and hundreds of political leaders, activists, journalists and former officials remain in jail.
Tuesday’s verdict will mark the tribunal’s next major ruling in cases arising from the 2024 unrest, with seven senior Awami League leaders facing judgment over allegations of inciting and directing violence during the protests that toppled Hasina’s government.
With PTI Inputs
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
