Bangladesh's Ousted PM Charged With Genocide, Crimes Against Humanity
A case was filed against former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and eight others, including former ministers, at the country's International Crimes Tribunal on Wednesday on charges of crimes against humanity and genocide....
0:00
/1861
Facts
- A case was filed against former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and eight others, including former ministers, at the country's International Crimes Tribunal on Wednesday on charges of crimes against humanity and genocide.[1][2]
- This comes as at least 400 people have been killed during weeks of anti-government student protests that broke out in July and culminated in her resignation and fleeing to India on Aug. 5, after 15 years in office.[3][4]
- Also on Wednesday, a court in Dhaka accepted an enforced disappearance case against Hasina and five other top officials filed by lawyer and alleged victim Sohel Rana. Claims suggest that hundreds have been abducted by government forces over the past decade and a half.[5][6][7]
- Two murder cases have also been opened against Hasina and several others, one over the killing of a college student and another over the killing of a grocer — both on July 19 — amid nationwide protests against the civil service quota system.[8][9][10]
- Meanwhile, Hasina has issued her first statement since stepping down and fleeing Bangladesh. She called for an investigation into those responsible for the killings during protests, claiming that people had died due to 'terrorist aggression.'[11][12][13]
- Sworn in as head of the Bangladesh interim government last week, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has urged people to stop attacks against figures from the ousted administration and rather focus on rebuilding the country.[14]
Sources: [1]The Daily Star, [2]Anadolu Agency, [3]France 24, [4]BBC News, [5]The Business Standard, [6]The Hindu, [7]Voice of America, [8]Prothomalo, [9]CNN, [10]Al Jazeera, [11]Associated Press, [12]Guardian, [13]NPR Online News and [14]Independent.
Narratives
- Narrative A, as provided by The Financial Express. Hasina has tacitly confessed to being a criminal when she cowardly decided to flee — or was smuggled — to India once it was clear that her autocratic rule had come to an end. The former prime minister will have much to explain upon her possible return to Bangladesh — and she will have to pay for her crimes.
- Narrative B, as provided by The Economic Times. Agitators and terrorists have plunged Bangladesh into chaos only to put the blame on Hasina and initiate several politically motivated cases against her and other innocent top officials. This persecution is all too reminiscent of the sacrifices her family — and other martyrs — have had to make for the country.
