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Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal will officially begin hearing charges against former prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday, with state-run BTV set to broadcast the proceedings live—a first in the country’s history.
Hasina, who was removed from office on August 5 last year following widespread student protests, is facing several cases in Bangladeshi courts that have so far prohibited photography and live telecasts of her trial.
However, the decision of the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT-BD) to allow live streaming is set to break the tradition in the case of Hasina, who could face the death penalty on the charges brought against her.
The three-judge tribunal had earlier ordered on February 18 that the investigation against Hasina be completed by April.
“The prosecution will submit formal charges against ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina at the ICT-BD tomorrow in a case filed over crimes against humanity committed during the July-August 2024 mass uprising,” the state-run BSS said.
Hasina’s Awami League regime was ousted in after mass protests led by a platform called Students against Discrimination (SAD) on August 5, 2024; three days later Muhamad Yunus took charge as Chief Adviser of the interim government.
ICT-BD prosecutor Gazi MH Tamim told reporters that the tribunal’s proceedings would start at 9.30 am local time and that the official Bangladesh Television (BTV) has been asked to broadcast the proceedings live.
“The entire nation will witness the submission of the first formal charges to the tribunal against influential figures of the ousted Awami League government, including Sheikh Hasina,” Gazi said, adding that the move would “ensure transparency in the judicial process”.
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View AllICT-BD’s chief prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam said the tribunal would simultaneously hear charges against former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, both in jail to stand trial.
This tribunal was originally formed by the past regime to try hardened collaborators of Pakistani troops during the 1971 Liberation War.
Six top leaders of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and one leader of the former prime minister Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) were hanged to death after they were convicted by the court.
The ICT-BD earlier issued an arrest warrant against Hasina while the interim government sought her repatriation from India in a diplomatic note. New Delhi has only acknowledged receipt with no further comment.
Most senior leaders and officials of Hasina’s party and government were arrested to face charges like mass murders to tame the protestors during the July-August violence when hundreds of people, including students and policemen were killed.
According to a UN rights office report some 1,400 people were killed between July 15 and August 15 last year as violence continued even after the fall of the past regime.
With inputs from agencies