Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) on November 17 pronounced a death sentence for former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina after it found her guilty on the charges of crimes against humanity related to the demonstrations in July of last year. The court also convicted Hasina and her two top aides, former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and former Inspector General of Police, Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun. Mamun has been granted a pardon, but the court said that, given the intensity of the crimes, he will be given a “lenient sentence”.
Till now, Hasina has defied the court’s orders by refusing to return to the South Asian nation to face trial. Asaduzzaman is currently a fugitive, while Mamun is in custody and has pleaded guilty. Notably, Mamun has become a state witness, making him the first accused to do so since the tribunal was established in 2010. The verdict was being live broadcast by Bangladesh Television (BTV) from the ICT courtroom, where the three-member Tribunal-1, headed by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Majumder, is delivering the judgment.
The formal charge documents consist of 8,747 pages, including references, seized evidence, and a comprehensive list of victims, reports leading Bangladeshi daily, The Dhaka Tribune. Prosecutors have charged the accused with five counts, including failure to prevent murder, which constitutes crimes against humanity under Bangladeshi law. They are seeking the death penalty if the defendants are found guilty. Additionally, the prosecutors requested that the tribunal confiscate the assets of the three defendants upon conviction and distribute them to the families of the victims.
