Bangladesh’s former Premier Hasina charged with ‘crimes against humanity’

DHAKA, Bangladesh

Bangladeshi prosecutors on Sunday charged former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina with “crimes against humanity” for their alleged roles in violent crackdowns on mass protests in July last year.

In a livestreamed court session, the first of its kind in Bangladesh, Dhaka-based International Crimes Tribunal Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam presented the charge sheet to a three-member tribunal led by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder.

The prosecution also filed the same five charges of crimes against humanity against former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan and then-police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun.

“This proceeding marks a significant milestone in the pursuit of justice for crimes against humanity under applicable legal frameworks,” the tribunal said during the proceedings.

The tribunal accepted the charges and issued arrest warrants for Hasina and the other two officials, directing authorities to produce the three accused on June 16.

On May 12, the tribunal’s investigation agency submitted a report accusing Hasina of crimes against humanity.

During the student-led protests, Bangladesh's former Awami League government, security, and intelligence services committed several serious human rights violations, raising concerns about crimes against humanity that require immediate criminal investigation, according to the report.

The tribunal, formed in 2010 during Hasina’s administration to try war crimes, has been reformed to try Hasina and her allies and her Awami League party.

Earlier this year, the UN human rights office in a report estimated that up to 1,400 people were killed between July and August of last year, 12% of whom were children, and more than 22,000 were injured during the uprising against Hasina's government.