Bangladesh's special tribunal set to deliver verdict against deposed prime minister Hasina
Dhaka (PTI): A tribunal in Bangladesh is set to deliver its verdict on Monday in a case against deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who is being tried in absentia, over alleged crimes against humanity committed during last year's student-led agitation that led to the fall of her Awami League government.
The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT-BD), which, according to Prosecutor Gazi Monawar Hossain Tamim, is expected to sit at 11:00 am, will also deliver its verdict against Hasina's two aides, former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, over the same charges.
Prosecutors have sought the death penalty for the accused.
Hasina, 78, faces multiple charges after being ousted in August 2024 following the mass student-led agitation.
A UN rights office report estimated that up to 1,400 people were killed between July 15 and August 15 during what came to be known as the July Uprising, as her government ordered a sweeping security crackdown.
Hasina, Kamal and Mamun were tried before the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT-BD). The court declared Hasina and Kamal fugitives and conducted the trial against them in absentia.
Mamun faced trial in person but later appeared as an approver.
Seeking the death penalty for Hasina, Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam had described her as the “mastermind and principal architect” of the alleged atrocities during the protests. Her supporters, however, say the charges are politically motivated.
The tribunal completed hearings on October 23 after 28 working days, during which 54 witnesses deposed, describing the state response to the student-led movement that toppled Hasina’s Awami League government on August 5, 2024.
Hasina fled the country on the same day amid spiralling unrest and has since been residing in India. Kamal is also believed to have taken refuge in India.
The interim government led by Muhammad Yunus has sought Hasina’s extradition, but India is yet to respond.
Meanwhile, security has been tightened across Bangladesh ahead of the verdict, with police in the national capital ordered to shoot violent protesters.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Sheikh Md Sajjat Ali on Sunday evening issued a shoot-at-sight order against anyone involved in arson attacks, cocktail explosions or attempts to harm police and civilians ahead of the ICT-BD verdict.
The now-disbanded Awami League had announced a two-day shutdown ahead of the verdict.
Army troops, Border Guard Bangladesh personnel and riot police have been deployed around the ICT-BD complex. Streets in the capital appeared largely deserted amid fears of violence.
Hasina, Kamal, and Mamun face five counts, including murder, attempted murder, torture and other inhumane acts. Another charge accuses Hasina of ordering the “extermination” of protesters. She is also accused of making inflammatory remarks and ordering the use of deadly weapons against students.
Additional counts relate to the shooting and killing of six unarmed protesters in Dhaka and the surrounding areas.
In recent interviews with international media and the Indian press, Hasina described the tribunal as a “kangaroo court” run by individuals linked to her political rivals.
In a recent emailed interview to PTI, Hasina said she was prepared to stand trial under international supervision “even at the International Criminal Court” in The Hague, alleging that Yunus avoided such a process because an impartial tribunal would acquit her.
The ICT-BD was formed by the past government to try hardened collaborators of the Pakistani troops during Bangladesh's 1971 Liberation War.
The Yunus administration later amended the law to try the leaders of the previous regime, including Hasina. Most Awami League leaders and key figures of the past government are either jailed or on the run.
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Odisha: Normalcy returns to violence-hit Malkangiri; internet services fully restored
Malkangiri (PTI): Normalcy returned to Odisha’s Malkangiri district on Monday, nearly a week after around 200 villages were damaged in violent clashes in a village, with the district administration fully restoring internet services, a senior official said.
Additional District Magistrate Bedabar Pradhan said internet services, suspended across the district on December 8 to curb the spread of rumours and misinformation following the clashes, were restored after the situation improved.
The suspension had been extended in phases till 12 noon on Monday.
The administration also withdrew prohibitory orders imposed under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita within a 10-km radius of MV-26 village, where arson incidents were reported on December 7 and December 8.
Though the violence was confined to two villages, tension had gripped the entire district, as the incident took the form of a clash between local tribals and Bengali settlers following the recovery of a headless body of a woman on December 4, officials said.
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The violence broke out after residents of Rakhelguda village allegedly set ablaze several houses belonging to Bengali residents, forcing hundreds to flee. The headless body of Lake Podiami (51), a woman from the Koya tribe, was recovered from the banks of the Poteru river on December 4, while her head was found six days later at a location about 15 km away.
Officials said the district administration held several rounds of discussions with representatives of the tribal and Bengali communities, following which both sides agreed to maintain peace.
Relief and rehabilitation work has since been launched at MV-26 village, with preliminary assessment pegging property damage at around Rs 3.8 crore.
A two-member ministerial team headed by Deputy Chief Minister K V Singh Deo visited the affected village, interacted with officials and locals, and submitted a report to the chief minister.
So far, 18 people have been arrested in connection with the violence, the officials said, adding that despite the withdrawal of prohibitory orders and restoration of internet services, security forces, including BSF and CRPF personnel, continue to be deployed to prevent any untoward incident.
On Sunday, Nabarangpur MP Balabhadra Majhi visited MV-26 and neighbouring Rakhelguda villages, and held discussions with members of both communities as part of efforts to rebuild confidence and restore peace.
More than two lakh Bengali-speaking Bangladeshis were rehabilitated by the Centre in Malkangiri and Nabarangpur districts in 1968, and they currently reside in 124 villages of Malkangiri.
