Sheikh Hasina charged with crimes against humanity: The court in question, what she is accused of

What is the standing of this court, and what is Hasina accused of? We explain.

What is Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal?

The tribunal was established under the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act. It was passed two years after the Liberation War of 1971 led to the formation of Bangladesh, formerly known as East Pakistan.

The Act provided for the “detection, prosecution and punishment of persons for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and other crimes under International Law committed in the territory of Bangladesh during the war of Liberation, particularly between 25 March to 16 December 1971.”

It was seen as necessary, given the bloody nine-month period of fighting unleashed by the forces of West Pakistan, which rejected the results of the 1970 general elections. In East Pakistan, the Awami League, led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (the father of Sheikh Hasina), won 160 of the 162 electoral seats. However, the ruling establishment of Pakistan refused to accord legitimacy to the win to restrict the growth of a popular, Bengali nationalist sentiment.

As a result of brewing discontent in East Pakistan due to the imposition of West Pakistan’s cultural and political ideas over the years, it had the opposite effect, and protests broke out. On March 25, 1971, the Pakistani military began a brutal crackdown that saw the mass slaughter of Bengalis and the influx of Bangladeshi refugees into India. The conflict ended on December 16, days after India formally declared war on Pakistan on December 4.

How was the tribunal formed?

According to the book Trials for International Crimes in Asia (2015), some 82,000 members of the Pakistani armed forces and some 11,000 civilians were taken as prisoners of war or internees by the joint command of the Bangladesh and Indian forces. The Act was passed in 1973 to try 195 prisoners of war who were alleged to have committed war crimes.

However, in February 1974, “Pakistan recognised Bangladesh as an independent state and the relationship between the two countries improved.” Bangladesh then granted clemency to the 195 suspects, and they were repatriated to Pakistan.

More than three decades later, the Hasina-led Awami League government “revived the idea of trials, declaring its intention to prosecute members of the political opposition for war crimes.” To do so, it amended the Act in 2009 to include civilians under its ambit and formed a three-member tribunal, known as the International Crimes Tribunal.

Among the first people it prosecuted were members of the political opposition, including the Jamaat-e-Islami. The party was opposed to the liberation of Bangladesh and advocated for remaining with Pakistan, but has maintained that it did not commit atrocities during the war.

According to an AFP report, under Hasina, the ICT sentenced more than 100 people to death. The court was often criticised by rights groups for not following international conventions. For instance, the book notes that the 1973 Act permits trials in absentia (without the accused present), despite the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights asserting a person’s right to be tried ‘in his presence’.

And what is Sheikh Hasina accused of?

Hasina was ousted following weeks of protests, initially led by students who opposed a controversial court decision to extend a quota in public jobs and education. The quota was for the children and grandchildren of people who fought in the Liberation War.

The government agreed to the protesters’ demands on scrapping the quota, but the situation worsened after Hasina equated the protesters with the descendants of the razakars – those who led the brutal repression during the 1971 war. Over time, it coalesced into anti-Hasina protests, and the subsequent police crackdown saw more than 450 people killed.

According to the Bangladeshi newspaper The Daily Star, five specific charges have been brought against Hasina. Chief Prosecutor Tajul Islam submitted the complaint to the tribunal, including counts of murder, attempt to murder, and other “inhumane” acts. The defendants were accused of “inciting, facilitating, being complicit in, and failing to prevent these crimes committed against civilians by law enforcement and armed cadres of the Awami League and its affiliates.”

Second, Sheikh Hasina is accused of “ordering the extermination of student protesters through the use of helicopters, drones, and lethal weapons.” It then accuses them in the case of the murder of Abu Sayed, a protesting student, near Begum Rokeya University in Rangpur. “Sheikh Hasina is accused of making inflammatory remarks and ordering the use of deadly weapons against protesting students,” the report said.

There are two other cases mentioned – the shooting and murder of six unarmed protesters in Dhaka’s Chankharpul and the shooting of six student protesters in Ashulia.