Prosecutors accuse Hasina of ordering deadly protest crackdown
Prosecutors in Bangladesh have demanded the death sentence for former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina over a deadly crackdown on student-led protests last year that ended her 15-year rule.
Hasina, who has fled to India, is on trial for crimes against humanity. According to a leaked audio clip, she allegedly ordered security forces to “use lethal weapons” against protesters- a charge she denies.
Up to 1,400 people were killed during weeks of unrest, marking the worst violence Bangladesh had seen since its 1971 war of independence.
“At least one death sentence” demanded
Chief prosecutor Tajul Islam told the court Sheikh Hasina deserved the death sentence 1,400 times- “one for every life lost.”
“Since that is not humanly possible, we demand at least one,” he said.
Islam accused Hasina of seeking to “cling to power permanently, for herself and her family,” calling her “a hardened criminal” who showed “no remorse for the brutality she committed.”
Protests that toppled Hasina
The protests began in July 2024 over civil service job quotas for relatives of independence war veterans but quickly grew into a nationwide movement to overthrow Hasina.
Some of the bloodiest clashes occurred on 5 August, the day Hasina fled by helicopter before crowds stormed her Dhaka residence, a BBC investigation found.
Police killed at least 52 people that day in one of the deadliest incidents of police violence in Bangladesh’s history.
Hasina’s state-appointed defence lawyer said officers opened fire in self-defence after protesters turned violent.
Former officials also on trial
Hasina is being tried alongside her former interior minister, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, and ex-police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun.
Prosecutors have also sought the death penalty for Kamal, who remains in hiding. Chowdhury pleaded guilty in July but has not yet been sentenced.
Hasina has already been sentenced to six months in prison for contempt of court and faces additional corruption charges.
Bangladesh is expected to hold elections in February, with the opposition BNP seen as the frontrunner after Hasina’s Awami League was banned from political activity.
Suorce: BBC
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