Bangladesh’s ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was indicted on July 11 by a special tribunal on five counts of crimes against humanity, in connection with last year’s student uprising that left hundreds dead.
The three-member panel led by Justice Golam Mortuza Mozumder also indicted former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan and former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun. Hasina and Khan are being tried in absentia.
Hasina has been in exile in India since August 5, 2023. The interim government, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, has submitted an official extradition request to India, which has yet to respond. Khan is also believed to be in India.
Al-Mamun, who was arrested and appeared before the tribunal, pleaded guilty and asked to become an approver—a state witness in exchange for leniency. Chief prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam confirmed that the panel accepted his plea.
Evidence presented includes a leaked audio of Hasina and other related documents. A motion to remove Hasina and Khan from the case was rejected by the tribunal.
The tribunal scheduled August 3 for the prosecution’s opening statement and August 4 for witness testimony.
In a statement on X, Hasina’s Awami League called the tribunal a “kangaroo court,” accusing the Yunus-led regime of weaponizing the judiciary to persecute political opponents.
