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Tag: Sheikh Hasina

  • Bangladesh’s fugitive ex-leader sentenced to six months

    Bangladesh’s fugitive ex-leader sentenced to six months

    Bangladesh on Wednesday convicted fugitive ex-prime minister Sheikh Hasina of contempt of court and issued a six-month prison sentence in absentia, the first verdict since she was ousted last year.

    Hasina, 77, fled to neighbouring India at the culmination of the student-led uprising in August 2024, and has defied orders to return to Dhaka.

    “She will serve the sentence the day she arrives in Bangladesh or surrenders to the court,” chief prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam told reporters after the court decision.

    The case centred around comments that prosecutors said she had made after she was ousted from power, which they said threatened witnesses in ongoing court hearings.

    “The prosecution team believes her comment created an aura of fear among those who filed the cases and among the witnesses,” Islam said.

    Shakil Akanda Bulbul, a fugitive leader of her now-banned Awami League, was sentenced to two months in prison in the same case.

    Up to 1,400 people were killed between July and August last year, according to the United Nations, when Hasina’s government ordered a crackdown on protesters in a failed bid to cling to power.

    In a separate ongoing trial that began on June 1, prosecutors say that Hasina held overall command responsibility for the violence.

    Her state-appointed defence lawyer said she has denied the multiple charges that amount to crimes against humanity under Bangladeshi law.

  • Bangladeshi ousted-party protesters arrested with Trump signs

    Bangladeshi ousted-party protesters arrested with Trump signs

    Supporters of Bangladesh’s ousted ex-leader were arrested after following her orders to protest bearing placards of Donald Trump, police said Sunday, accusing them of trying to undermine relations with Washington.

    Former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, 77, fled by helicopter to India on August 5, following weeks of deadly student-led protests.

    Since then a caretaker government, led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, has taken charge. It has been tasked with implementing democratic reforms and holding elections.

    The 10 protesters, called “conspirators” by the police, were arrested on Saturday night and accused of attempting to destabilise the South Asian country of some 170 million people.

    “We are assessing their crimes in order to file charges,” Dhaka Metropolitan Police spokesman Muhammad Talebur Rahman said.

    The tiny protest came ahead of a threatened rally by Hasina’s Awami League on Sunday, a gathering barred by the interim government who calls the group “fascist”.

    Students have called for a counter-protest in the same central Dhaka site.

    Dozens of Hasina’s allies were arrested after her regime collapsed — accused of culpability in a police crackdown that killed more than 700 people during the unrest that deposed her — while other party loyalists went into hiding.

    – ‘Plotting a conspiracy’ –
    Police said that an audio recording of Hasina circulating on social media had urged her supporters to protest on Sunday, and to carry placards with Trump’s photo and US flags.

    “She asked them to use the placards as shields and to take photos and video footage if there were any attacks,” police said in a statement.

    “They had been plotting a conspiracy to undermine Bangladesh’s friendly relationship with the United States”.

    Hasina’s party had accused — without evidence — the government of US President Joe Biden of encouraging the protest against her iron-fisted rule — claims the White House called “simply false”.

    Her 15-year-long regime was marred by incidents of preventing the opposition from exercising their democratic rights.

    Yunus, an 84-year-old microfinance pioneer who took over after Hasina was ousted, said he looked “forward to working together” after Trump’s election win.

    Police said the Awami League had not sought permission to hold a rally, while the press secretary to Yunus said Hasina’s party was not allowed to march.

    “The Awami League, in its current form, is a fascist party,” Shafiqul Alam wrote in a statement.

    “Anyone who attempts to hold rallies, gatherings, or processions under orders from the mass murderer and dictator Sheikh Hasina will face the full force of the law enforcement agencies.”

  • Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina resigns

    Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina resigns

    In a stunning turn of events, Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has resigned and fled the country, the BBC reports.

    Hasina, who has led Bangladesh since 2009, is currently onboard a helicopter heading to the Indian city of Agartala, according to BBC Bengali.

    The resignation comes amid escalating unrest in the capital, Dhaka, where thousands of protesters have taken to the streets, demanding her resignation.

    The protests, which began last month as a student-led movement to abolish quotas in civil service jobs, have transformed into a broader anti-government uprising.

    Clashes between police and protesters have left at least 90 people dead in the past day alone, with reports indicating that some demonstrators have stormed Hasina’s official residence.

    Over the past month, approximately 300 people have been killed as authorities cracked down on the growing anti-government protests.

    The unrest reflects widespread dissatisfaction with Hasina’s administration and calls for significant political change.

    In response to the crisis, Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman has addressed the nation in a televised speech.

    He announced that an interim government would be formed and stated his intention to meet with President Mohammed Shahabuddin to find a solution by the end of the day.

    General Waker-Uz-Zaman also mentioned that he had already spoken with opposition political parties, though it remains unclear who will head the interim government.

    The army chief vowed to deliver “justice” for all Bangladeshi people, a pledge that resonates with the protesters’ demands following the deaths of hundreds over the past few weeks.

    As the situation continues to unfold, the nation waits anxiously to see how the interim government will address the widespread calls for reform and accountability.