Bangladesh’s former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was removed from power during mass protests last year, has urged authorities to lift the ban on her party ahead of next year’s national elections.
Hasina, currently living in India after fleeing in August 2024, faces serious charges at a special tribunal in Dhaka. The court is expected to deliver its verdict on Monday, a decision that could reshape Bangladesh’s political landscape.
Prosecutors accuse Hasina of crimes against humanity, claiming she orchestrated the killing of hundreds during the student-led uprising that ended her rule. She firmly denies the allegations, calling the case a “politically engineered farce” being run by a “kangaroo court”.
Officials are seeking the death penalty if she is found guilty. According to UN human rights investigators, as many as 1,400 protesters were killed when state forces used violent tactics to suppress the movement in 2024.
Hasina insists she never ordered security forces to fire on civilians:
“The situation spiraled beyond control, but I never instructed anyone to shoot unarmed people,” she said.
Her trial in absentia has been widely criticised. She says she was unable to defend herself or appoint her own legal team, while her lawyers have appealed to the UN over what they call severe fair-trial violations.
The tribunal has reviewed leaked audio—verified by BBC Eye—purportedly showing Hasina authorizing the use of “lethal weapons” in July 2024.
Hasina was indicted alongside former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and ex-police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun. Prosecutors are also seeking the death penalty for Kamal, who remains in hiding. Chowdhury previously pled guilty but has not yet been sentenced.
Hasina says political rivals are using the trial to cripple the Awami League before the February 2026 elections.
She maintains that despite these attempts, her party’s vast support base “cannot be silenced or erased from Bangladesh’s political conversation.”
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