A Dhaka-based war crimes tribunal has found Sheikh Hasina guilty of contempt of court
Former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been sentenced to six months in prison by the Dhaka-based International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in a contempt of court case, as reported by the Dhaka Tribune.
The three-member tribunal issued its verdict on Wednesday. Bangladeshi prosecutors had brought the matter before the tribunal, citing a telephone conversation in which Hasina allegedly stated she possessed “a license to kill 227 people,” linking this to the 227 cases filed against her, according to the Dhaka Tribune.
The ICT, a domestic war crimes tribunal in Bangladesh, was established in 2009 to investigate and prosecute collaborators involved in the genocide perpetrated by the nation’s Pakistani rulers during the 1971 war of independence. Hasina, who departed Bangladesh for neighboring India following the deposition of her government in a 2024 coup, was tried and convicted by the ICT in absentia. Earlier this year, Dhaka dispatched a diplomatic note to New Delhi, requesting her repatriation to face trial, but the Indian government has not yet formally responded.
This marks the initial prison sentence for Hasina since her departure from Bangladesh. In June, the ICT formally indicted Hasina on charges of crimes against humanity, related to a crackdown on widespread protests last year that resulted in the removal of her Awami League-led government.
Mohammad Tajul Islam, the ICT’s chief prosecutor, has alleged that Hasina orchestrated a “systemic attack” against the protestors. A February report from the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for stated that “as many as 1,400 people may have been killed between 15 July and 5 August (2024), and thousands were injured, the vast majority of whom were shot by Bangladesh’s security forces.”
Hasina, who stepped down on August 5, 2024, continues to assert her innocence. According to her defense lawyer, Amir Hossain, she intends to present arguments to seek her discharge from these allegations. In May, Bangladesh’s interim government, headed by Nobel Peace Laureate Muhammad Yunus, prohibited the Awami League from participating in the next general election, citing national security and sovereignty interests.