Dhaka: Former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina was sentenced to six months in prison in a contempt of court case by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) on July 2.
The verdict was issued by a three-member bench of the International Crimes Tribunal-1, headed by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder, The Dhaka Tribune reported. The sentence marks the first time that the ousted Awami League leader has been sentenced in any case since she fled the country around a year ago.
In June this year, the prosecutors at the International Crimes Tribunal formally charged Hasina with crimes against humanity during the mass protest last year. Mohammad Tajul Islam, the chief prosecutor at ICT alleged that Hasina orchestrated a "systemic attack" on protests against her government.
According to a UN rights office report, around 1,400 were killed between July 15 and August 15, 2024, as retaliatory violence continued even after the fall of the past regime.
Hasina, who arrived in India in August 2024 after the dramatic collapse of the Awami League government, has denied all charges, telling journalists that she would present "arguments to seek her discharge from these allegations," according to defense lawyer Amir Hossain.
Massive protests in Bangladesh after Hindu woman rapedThe brutal rape of a Hindu woman in central Bangladesh's Cumilla district last week sparked nationwide outrage, after a video of the assault went viral on social media. In the capital, students from Dhaka University organized massive protests and thronged the streets, demanding "direct action" against the perpetrators. The incident took place on June 26, when the 21-year-old survivor was raped by a local politician at her parental home in Cumilla. But the matter came to light only after a video of the woman went viral on social media, where she was seen pleading with her attackers. So far, the police have arrested five individuals, including the main accused, 36-year-old Fazor Ali, who is a local politician. |
