DHAKA, Bangladesh () — A prosecutor in a special domestic tribunal in Bangladesh sought the death penalty Thursday for ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a case involving charges of crimes against humanity in a mass uprising last year that forced her to leave the country.
During the protests in July and August 2024, hundreds of people including students, security officials and political activists were killed in the weekslong violence.
Chief Prosecutor Tajul Islam, in his closing arguments to the International Crimes Tribunal in the capital, Dhaka, also called for former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan to be sentenced to death because of the gravity of his crimes.
In his closing, the prosecutor left a decision on the sentence for former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun up to the tribunal.
Al-Mamun, who is in custody, became a state witness against Hasina and had earlier pleaded guilty.
Hasina has been in exile in India after fleeing the country on since Aug.
More proceedings are needed to complete the trial before a verdict is rendered.
Hasina did not appoint any lawyers to represent her, and she had earlier rejected the trial process as a “kangaroo court.”.
A state-appointed counsel for Hasina has sought a week to present his arguments.
Bangladeshi Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus took over as the head of an interim government three days after Hasina’s fall.
Yunus vowed to punish Hasina and banned the activities of her Awami League party.
Islam in his arguments called Hasina the “mastermind and principal architect” behind the crimes against humanity committed during the uprising.
The political importance lies in whether the issue moves from public comment into formal action, party response, court record, election authority notice or administrative decision.
