Bangladesh Tribunal Decides Sheikh Hasina's Fate on July 10

Dhaka, Jul 7 (PTI) - Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal is set to make a determination on July 10 regarding the framing of charges against ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and two of her top aides. The charges are linked to alleged crimes against humanity during the July uprising last year. Former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and former Inspector General of Police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun join Hasina in facing these accusations.

The tribunal, known as International Crimes Tribunal-1 (ICT-1), will hear petitions from the defense counsels who have argued that the charges are baseless and should be dropped. Hasina, Kamal, and Al-Mamun were formally charged with five counts of crimes, including murder, attempted murder, torture, and the use of lethal weapons as of June 1.

Adding to Hasina's legal woes, she was sentenced last Wednesday to six months in prison for contempt of court by the ICT, marking her first sentence since leaving office in August last year. A UN rights office report indicates up to 1,400 deaths resulted from a security crackdown ordered by Hasina's government last year to quell protests.

These events led to the fall of the Awami League regime on August 5, forcing Hasina to flee to India. Many Awami League leaders and regime officials were arrested or went into hiding, faced with trials initiated by the interim government.

In a related development, a Dhaka court has summoned Hasina, her family, and former officials over alleged corruption in plot allocations. According to bdnews24.com, the court has set July 20 for hearing these six cases and has issued gazette notices signed by Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Md Zakir Hossain Galib.

Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Prosecutor Mir Ahmed Ali Salam stated that arrest warrants have been issued. If the accused fail to appear by the scheduled date, the trials will proceed in their absence.

The gazette lists Hasina, her children Sajeeb Wazed Joy and Saima Wazed Putul, her sister Sheikh Rehana, and Rehana’s children, British MP Tulip Rizwana Siddiq, Azmina Siddiq Ruponti, and Radwan Mujib Siddiq as accused.

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