Lawyers in Bangladesh have called for the death penalty for former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for a deadly crackdown on student-led protests last year that ousted her from power.
Hasina, who fled to India, is on trial for crimes against humanity. According to the leaked audio clip Security forces were ordered to “use lethal weapons”. Against the protesters. She denies the allegations.
1,400 people were killed in weeks of unrest that ended Hasina’s 15-year rule. It was the worst violence Bangladesh has seen since the 1971 war of independence.
Chief Prosecutor Tajul Islam said Hasina deserved 1,400 death sentences. “It is not humanly possible, we demand at least one,” he said.
“(Hasina’s) goal was to hang on to power forever for herself and her family,” Islam told the court on Thursday.
“She has become a hardened criminal and shows no remorse for the brutality she has committed,” he said.
The protests began in July 2024 Against Civil Service Job Quota For the relatives of those who fought in the 1971 war, but soon a mass movement grew to overthrow Hasina.
On August 5, some bloody scenes took placeA BBC investigation found that a mob attacked Hasina’s residence in Dhaka on the day she escaped by helicopter.
Police killed at least 52 people in a busy Dhaka neighborhood that day, making it the worst incident of police violence in Bangladesh’s history.
Hasina’s state-appointed defense lawyers argued that the police were forced to open fire in response to the protesters’ violent actions.
Hasina is being tried along with former interior minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and former police chief Chaudhry Abdullah al-Mamoon.
Prosecutors have sought the death penalty for Kamal, who is also absconding. Chaudhary pleaded guilty in July but has not been sentenced.
Hasina has already been sentenced to six months in jail for contempt of court and faces corruption charges.
Bangladesh has maintained it Next elections in FebruaryJ Hasina’s rival BNP will see a lead in the polls. Her party Awami League has been banned from all activities including contesting elections.
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