Bangladesh On Edge As Dhaka Tightens Security Ahead Of Sheikh Hasina’s Crimes-Against-Humanity Verdict

In anticipation of Monday's ruling by a special tribunal against former prime minister Sheikh Hasina in a case of suspected crimes against humanity, Bangladesh implemented increased security around Dhaka and other areas overnight amid intermittent arson and crude bomb assaults.

Following allegations that Hasina's now-disbanded Awami League had declared a two-day closure ahead of the International Crimes Tribunal–Bangladesh (ICT-BD) judgement, authorities ordered a strict military, paramilitary, and police vigil.

On Sunday night, unidentified individuals detonated two crude bombs outside the home of an advisory council member of interim government chief Professor Muhammad Yunus, set fire to the vehicle dumping corner of a police station complex, and caused explosions at multiple intersections in the capital.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) asked its personnel to shoot violent protesters on sight as tensions spiralled. ICT-BD prosecutors have sought the death penalty for Hasina, 78.

“I stated over the wireless that anyone who sets a bus on fire or throws crude bombs with intent to kill should be shot. This authority is clearly provided in our law,” Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner SM Sazzat Ali said late Sunday.

Dhaka has witnessed a series of mostly predawn clandestine attacks since November 10, including crude bomb explosions at the entrance of the Yunus-founded Grameen Bank headquarters in Mirpur.

Officials said several branches of the bank were also targeted in coordinated petrol bomb and arson attacks.

Unidentified attackers also torched several parked buses during the past week, killing one driver who was asleep inside a vehicle.

Hasina, currently in India, and her former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal were tried in absentia. The third accused, former police chief Abdullah Al Mamun, faced the trial in person and turned “approver”, apparently seeking leniency.

“We have sought the highest possible sentence for Hasina. We also requested seizure of the convicts’ property for distribution among families of martyrs and injured victims of last year’s violent street protests,” ICT-BD prosecutor Gazi MH Tamim said on Sunday.

He claimed that until Hasina surrenders or is taken into custody within 30 days of the ruling, ICT-BD's statute prevents her from filing an appeal in the Supreme Court's Appellate Division.

The verdict will be shown live on state-run BTV, according to the prosecution, and it will be shown on big screens in several Dhaka locales.

Subject to the tribunal's final permission, only specific parts of the ruling would be broadcast. Additionally, ICT-BD's official Facebook page will stream the ruling.

Hasina, in an audio message uploaded on the Awami League’s Facebook page overnight, rejected the charges and urged party members not to worry, saying, “We have seen enough of these attacks and cases, this is just a matter of time.” Interim government home affairs adviser, retired lieutenant general Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, said the verdict, “whatever it is, will be executed”.

To avoid any crisis involving law and order, security has been strengthened across.

Hasina, her senior colleagues, and a number of Awami League leaders are charged with a variety of offences, including murder, corruption, and power abuse. Five counts of alleged crimes against humanity connected to the July Uprising of last year are the subject of Monday's verdict.

These include particular killings in Rangpur and Dhaka, orders to employ deadly weaponry, helicopters, and drones, torture, and the use of lethal force against unarmed student protestors.

The ousted premier has refuted all accusations and accused Professor Yunus, the acting head of government, of planning her removal through a "meticulous design." He was called a "usurper" by her.

“Let them try me, I don’t care… The verdict will not be able to gouge my mouth,” she said.

Hasina said the charges were “entirely false”, adding, “If someone makes a false complaint in court, he is tried under law, and one day it will happen.” Quoting Article 7(B) of Bangladesh’s Constitution, she said, “If someone by force removes the elected representatives from power, they will be punished. Yunus just did it.”