• ​​​While Hasina remains in India, chief prosecutor says Dhaka can ‘utilize’ extradition treaty with New Delhi or can go to Interpol to bring ousted politician to Bangladesh

DHAKA 

A court in Dhaka on Monday sentenced Bangladesh’s fugitive former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to death, finding her guilty of crimes against humanity committed during last year's mass demonstrations against her government.

Amid tight security, the Dhaka-based International Crimes Tribunal delivered the verdict in absentia since Hasina remains in India.

Hasina committed crimes against humanity, the court said in the verdict, adding that she was the “superior commander of all the atrocities.”

"The crimes happened in her (Sheikh Hasina’s) cool knowledge," the three-member tribunal, led by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder, read from the 453-page judgement.

“All the conditions of being a case of crimes against humanity were proved” in Hasina’s case, it said.

Those sentenced to death include former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, who is also in India, according to the Bangladeshi Foreign Ministry.

Hasina and her aides can appeal before the apex court in person within the next 30 days.

Property confiscated

Hasina fled to India on Aug. 5 last year at the height of a mass uprising against her government, which led to the deaths of over 1,400 people.

​​​​​​​Later, the interim government brought five charges, including crimes against humanity, against Hasina and her aides.

The mass student-led uprising last year ousted Hasina's Awami League government, which had ruled the South Asian nation for over 15 years.

The court also ordered the confiscation of all property belonging to Hasina and former Home Minister Kamal.

It sentenced former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun to five years in jail as he "became an approver in the case by admitting his involvement."

“The justice and verdict were presented as a transparent process, and anyone across the world could come and check,” chief prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam told reporters at the court premises.

Islam said the victims of last year’s uprising will be given compensation from the property of Hasina and Kamal.

On how the verdict will be implemented as Hasina remains in India, Islam said that the government “can utilize the extradition treaty with India and execute the punishment or can go to Interpol to bring Hasina to Bangladesh.”

Mir Snigdho, the twin brother of Mir Mugdho, one of the coordinators of last year's July uprising and killed during the demonstrations, was also present at the court when the verdict was delivered.

He told reporters that the victims' families "will only be pleased after Hasina is brought home from India and the verdict is executed."

Dhaka urges New Delhi to hand over Hasina, Kamal

Bangladesh's Foreign Ministry on Monday urged India to return Hasina and Kamal to their country of origin.

"It would be a grave act of unfriendly behavior and a travesty of justice for any other country to grant asylum to these individuals convicted of crimes against humanity," the ministry said in a statement following the court verdict.

"This is also an obligation for India under the existing extradition treaty between the two countries," it added.

Meanwhile, India's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it has "noted the verdict" against Hasina.

"As a close neighbor, India remains committed to the best interests of the people of Bangladesh, including in peace, democracy, inclusion and stability in that country. We will always engage constructively with all stakeholders to that end," it added.

Separately, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami welcomed the death sentence against Hasina.

“Justice has been established. This verdict is a milestone. Although this sentence is not enough considering the crimes (of Sheikh Hasina), this verdict will be an example so that no government can become fascist in the future,” BNP standing committee member Salahuddin Ahmed told reporters in Dhaka.