In a contempt of court case, Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal sentenced Sheikh Hasina, the country’s deposed and self-exiled prime minister, to six months in prison on Wednesday, according to a top prosecutor. It was the first time the former leader was punished in a case that has been pending since she fled to India following violent student-led demonstrations in August.
Chief Prosecutor Muhammad Tajul Islam informed reporters that Shakil Akand Bulbul, a leader of the Chhatra League, the Awami League party’s outlawed student branch, was also given a two-month prison term in the same case.
In their absence, a three-member ICT panel presided over by Justice Golam Mortuza Mozumder rendered the decision. The prosecutor also stated that the penalties will be effective upon capture or surrender.
According to a phone tape that was released, Hasina is accused of saying, “There are 227 cases against me, so I now have a licence to kill 227 people.” This is the basis for the contempt accusations. A forensic report from a federal investigation agency later verified the validity of the recording. Hasina’s own administration first established the ICT in 2010 to investigate war crimes from 1971.
Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, who headed Bangladesh’s interim government, promised to hold Hasina and other authorities responsible for corruption and violations of human rights, including the suppression of the student-led rebellion that overthrew Hasina’s government in July of last year.
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