Bangladesh tribunal to decide on framing charges against Sheikh Hasina on July 10

Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal has scheduled July 10 to decide whether formal charges will be framed against ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and two of her senior aides. The tribunal’s announcement came on July 7, marking a key development in the ongoing legal proceedings against the former leader.

Hasina, former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, and former inspector general of police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun are accused in the case over alleged crimes against humanity committed during the July uprising last year.

The International Crimes Tribunal-1 (ICT-1) set July 10 to decide whether charges will be framed against Hasina, Kamal, and Al-Mamun, The Daily Star newspaper reported.

On that day, the three-member tribunal will hear the petitions filed by the defence counsels, who argued that the charges against their clients are baseless and should be dropped, it said.

Hasina, Kamal, and Al-Mamun were charged with five counts of crimes against humanity on June 1.

The prosecution pressed formal charges against the deposed prime minister, the former home minister, and the former top cop for murder, attempted murder, torture, and use of lethal weapons, among others.

On Wednesday last week, Hasina was sentenced to six months in prison in absentia in a contempt of court case by the ICT. It marks the first time that the 77-year-old Awami League leader has been sentenced in any case since she left office in August last year.

According to a UN rights office report, up to 1,400 people were killed between July 15 and August 15 last year as Hasina's government ordered a security crackdown on protesters.

Most leaders of the Awami League and ministers and several officials of the past regime were arrested or were on the run at home and abroad as the interim government initiated their trial for brutal actions to tame the uprising last year, which led to the toppling of the nearly 16-year Awami League regime on August 5 and forced Hasina to leave the country for India.

Meanwhile, a Dhaka court has summoned Hasina, her family members, and several former officials of her administration to appear in six cases over alleged corruption involving plot allocations, news portal bdnews24.com reported on Sunday.

Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Prosecutor Mir Ahmed Ali Salam said the court had earlier instructed the publication of the gazette notices, which have now been issued.

The gazette was signed by Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Md Zakir Hossain Galib.

“The court has scheduled July 20 for a hearing in these six cases. If the accused fail to appear before the court by then, the trial will proceed in their absence,” Salam said.

The gazette underlines that arrest warrants have been issued against the accused, that the court has reasonable grounds to believe that they have gone into hiding to evade arrest and trial, and that there is no likelihood of their apprehension.

If the accused fail to appear by the next scheduled date, the trial will proceed in their absence.

Besides Hasina, the gazette includes the names of 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.