A collage of the ICT logo and Sheikh HasinaFile photo
Bangladesh will open the trial on Sunday of fugitive former prime minister Sheikh Hasina on charges of crimes against humanity related to the killings of protesters by police, prosecutors said.
Hasina, 77, fled by helicopter to her old ally India in August 2024 at the culmination of a student-led mass uprising that ended her 15-year rule, and has defied an extradition order to return to Dhaka.
"The prosecution team ... is set to submit charges against former prime minister Sheikh Hasina," said Gazi MH Tamim, one of the prosecutors.
Up to 1,400 people were killed between July and August 2024 when Hasina's government launched a brutal campaign to silence the protesters, according to the United Nations.
The domestic International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) is prosecuting former senior figures connected to the ousted government of Hasina and her now-banned Awami League party.
The prosecution of senior figures from Hasina's government is a key demand of several of the political parties now jostling for power. The interim government has vowed to hold elections before June 2026.
The hearing is expected to be broadcast live on state-owned Bangladesh Television.
Prosecutors submitted their report into the case against Hasina last month with the court on Sunday expected to open proceedings by issuing formal charges.
ICT chief prosecutor Tajul Islam said on 12 May that Hasina faces at least five charges, including "abetment, incitement, complicity, facilitation, conspiracy and failure to prevent mass murder during the July uprising".
Investigators have collected video footage, audio clips, Hasina's phone conversations,
On May 25, the ICT court began its first trial related to the former administration. Eight police officers are charged with crimes against humanity in connection with the murder of six demonstrators on August 5, the day Hasina left the country.
Four of the cops are being tried in absentia, and four more are in custody.
In order to look into crimes perpetrated by the Pakistani army during Bangladesh's 1971 independence war, Hasina established the ICT in 2009.
It was widely perceived as a tool used by Hasina to crush opponents and resulted in the execution of many high-profile political opponents.
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