‘Never ordered firing on civilians’: Hasina denies crimes against humanity as Bangladesh awaits tribunal verdict

In her interview with the BBC, she said the trial in absentia was a “farce” run by a “kangaroo court” controlled by political rivals. She claimed the process was engineered to produce a “pre-ordained guilty verdict.”

Security has been intensified around the tribunal in Dhaka ahead of Monday’s ruling, which is seen as a pivotal moment for the country and for families of those killed during the uprising.

‘Never issued order to fire on civilians”

UN human rights investigators say up to 1,400 people were killed when her government allegedly used systematic, deadly force to suppress the protests. Hasina is accused of directly instructing security agencies to shoot demonstrators in the weeks before she fled.

She “categorically” denied this in her email interview with the BBC. “I’m not denying that the situation got out of control, nor that many lives were lost needlessly. But I never issued any order to fire on unarmed civilians,” she said.

Earlier this year, leaked audio of a phone call came up, in which Hasina purportedly appeared to authorise the use of “lethal weapons” in July 2024. The recording was played in court during the trial.

Co-accused include former ministers and police chief

Hasina was formally indicted in July alongside former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and former inspector general of police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun. Prosecutors have sought the death penalty for Kamal, who is in hiding. Al-Mamun pleaded guilty in July but has not yet been sentenced.

Hasina said she has not been able to defend herself or appoint her own lawyers, adding that her opponents were attempting to “liquidate” the Awami League as a political force. The party is already banned from contesting general elections due in February.

Her lawyers said on Monday, according to BBC, that they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN, raising concerns about fair trial standards and due process at the International Crimes Tribunal.

What more did Hasina say?

The BBC interview also addressed allegations of enforced disappearances, secret jails and extra-judicial killings during her long tenure. After she was ousted, several clandestine detention sites were uncovered, with claims that detainees were held for years without due process.

Asked who was responsible, Hasina said she “did not have knowledge” of those facilities. She denied involvement in disappearances or extra-judicial killings. “This is denied in terms of my own involvement, but if there is evidence of abuse by officials, let us have it examined properly in an impartial, depoliticised process,” she said, reported BBC.

Hasina and senior figures from her former administration are also facing separate corruption charges, which they deny.