Sheikh Hasina indicted formally by Bangladesh tribunal as top cop turns witness
Synopsis
Sheikh Hasina, believed to be in India defying extradition, faces charges including incitement and failure to prevent mass murder. A leaked audio clip, verified by the BBC, allegedly captures Hasina ordering the crackdown.
Dhaka: Bangladesh's former police chief pleaded guilty to crimes against humanity committed during a crackdown on protests last year, while ex-prime minister Sheikh Hasina was formally indicted, prosecutors said after the trial resumed on Thursday. Earlier, BBC had verified an audio clip that was leaked in March, in which Sheikh Hasina could purportedly heard giving orders for the lethal crackdown on student protesters. At least 1,400 people were killed between July and August 2024, according to the United Nations, during the uprising.
A three-member panel of Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), headed by Justice Golam Mortuza Mozumder, is prosecuting former senior figures connected to Hasina's ousted government and her now-banned party, the Awami League. The tribunal on Thursday rejected defence lawyers' request to have the charges against Hasina and her interior minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal dismissed.
Former inspector general of police (IGP) Chowdhury Abdullah Mamun "pleaded guilty to crimes against humanity," Muhammad Tajul Islam, chief prosecutor at the ICT, told reporters. Islam said Mamun has agreed to assist the court by acting as a witness, giving "all the knowledge he has regarding the crimes committed during the July–August uprising". The court has approved separate accommodation to ensure Mamun's safety. Both Hasina and Kamal were formally indicted in the same case.
Amir Hossain, the state-appointed counsel for Hasina and Kamal, however remained hopeful. "The trial is at an initial stage, and there are several other phases," he said. Hasina, 77, fled by helicopter to India as the protests ended her 15-year rule. She has defied an extradition order to return to Dhaka, where her trial in absentia opened on June 1.
Hasina faces at least five charges at the ICT, including "abetment, incitement, complicity, facilitation, conspiracy and failure to prevent mass murder during the July uprising". Prosecutors say that Hasina held overall command responsibility for the violence. She was already convicted of contempt of court in a separate case on July 2, receiving a six-month sentence. Fugitive former minister Kamal is also believed to be in India.
How BBC verified the audio clip
The BBC cited police documents to reveal that Hasina was at her residence in Dhaka on July 18 when she made the call to the government official. Soon after the call, the security forces used military-grade weapons, the report added. The voice in the leaked audio voice was reportedly matched with another audio with Sheikh Hasina's voice, proving the veracity of the tape. BBC said they also verified the audio tapes independently by giving it to audio forensics experts Earshot.
According to Earshot, the leaked audio was likely recorded in a room with the phone call on a loudspeaker, adding that the audio has not been manipulated. Toby Cadman, leading the case against Sheikh Hasina said that the recordings are properly authenticated and establishes her role in the violence. Earlier, Hasina had denied responsibility for the deaths in her first statement. A representative from the Awami League party said that the tape did not show any "unlawful intention" of "disproportionate response".
(With inputs from AFP)