Dhaka, Nov 14 Bangladesh’s former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has dismissed the country’s International Court Tribunal (ICT), which is set to deliver its verdict on her case on November 17, describing it as a politically motivated “hatchet job” orchestrated by her rivals, a report said on Friday.
It added that Hasina has already been sentenced to six months' imprisonment for contempt of court, and separately faces corruption charges.
Several officials from the former Awami League government led by Hasina also face charges, including the former interior minister and the former police chief, who is in custody and has already pleaded guilty.
In an interview with South China Morning Post’s ‘This Week in Asia’ just days before her much-anticipated November 17 verdict on charges that her response to the student protests last year amounted to crimes against humanity, Hasina said the initially reasonable demonstrations “darkened into mob violence”, triggering the state intervention.
Slamming the ICT over the charges against her, Hasina said, “Bangladesh’s so-called International Criminal Tribunal [ICT] is neither international, nor even a tribunal. It is a judicial mockery."
“The ICT is controlled by my political opponents in order to deliver a preordained guilty verdict, in an attempt to nullify the Awami League as a political force," she added.
In the months-long trial conducted in her absence, prosecutors in Bangladesh accused Hasina of directing security forces to use lethal weapons against protesters, allegations she rejects.
“At no point did I order security forces to fire on crowds. My political adversaries have alleged this but have shown no persuasive evidence to back the claim, because there is none,” she asserted.
Bangladesh faces the risk of more unrest after the Awami League announced a nationwide “lockdown” in protest against the former PM’s trial.
On Thursday, amid the lockdown, schools in Dhaka and major cities across Bangladesh shifted to online classes and examinations, while public transport services were severely disrupted as the government tightened security nationwide.
Hasina, who was re-elected for the fourth consecutive term in 2024, accused the interim government of making a mockery of its democratic credentials by banning all activities of the Awami League under the country’s Anti-Terrorism Act ahead of next year’s election.
“An election where the Awami League, which is supported by tens of millions, is banned, is neither free, fair, nor inclusive. Bangladesh badly needs a government ruling with the consent of the people. You will not achieve that if millions of people are disenfranchised. Whether in government or in opposition, the Awami League needs to be part of the political conversation in Bangladesh,” the former PM stressed.
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor