Bangladesh’s Ex-PM Sheikh Hasina Sentenced To 6 Months In Prison In Contempt Case
Bangladesh’s deposed Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, was sentenced in absentia to six months in prison on Wednesday in a contempt of court case, the first verdict against her since she fled the country nearly a year ago.
The sentence was handed down by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Dhaka. A three-member bench, headed by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder, delivered the judgment, according to a report in The Dhaka Tribune newspaper.
This conviction is separate from a more severe trial where Hasina is facing charges of “crimes against humanity.” That case relates to her government’s brutal crackdown on a student-led uprising in July and August of last year, in which the United Nations estimates up to 1,400 people were killed.
The ousted 77-year-old leader, who has been living in exile in India since her government was toppled in August 2024, has denied all charges. Her now-banned Awami League party has dismissed the legal proceedings against her as a “show trial” aimed at political vengeance.
Prosecutors in the crimes against humanity case formally filed five charges against Hasina on July 1, including abetment, incitement, and conspiracy to commit mass murder. They allege she holds overall command responsibility for the violent suppression of the protests in a failed bid to cling to power.
The trial, which began on June 1, is also hearing cases against her former interior minister, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, who is also a fugitive, and the former national police chief, Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, who is in custody.
The contempt of court conviction is seen by observers as a significant legal and political development, marking the first time Hasina has been sentenced since she was forced from office.
