محكمة بنغلاديشية تتهم رئيسة الوزراء السابقة ومسؤولين بارتكاب جرائم إنسانية

A special court in Bangladesh today (Thursday) officially charged the ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina with the murder of protesters who rose up against her government last summer.

The Washington Post reported today that crimes related to the uprising and the popular mobilization that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of students last year against Hasina were brought before the special court, which in turn officially charged the ousted Prime Minister with committing "crimes against humanity." The court, composed of three members led by Judge Ghulam Murtaza, is conducting a trial in absentia for Hasina and former Interior Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, while former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun is being tried in person based on five charges.

The public prosecution in the Dhaka court emphasized that the former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina organized a systematic attack that amounts to "crimes against humanity" in an attempt to crush the protest movement against her government in the summer of 2024.

According to the United Nations, around 1,400 people were killed between July and August 2024 when Hasina's government launched its security campaign.

Hasina (77 years old) left the country by helicopter and headed to India, her allied state, when a student-led uprising managed to seize control of several government premises, bringing an end to her 15-year rule. New Delhi has refused a request to extradite her to Dhaka, and she remains in her voluntary exile in India, denying the charges as politically motivated.

A special court had sentenced former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to six months in prison for contempt of court on July 2.