NEW DELHI: Sources close to former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina have denounced her ongoing trial before Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) as a politically motivated attempt by the “illegal Yunus-led interim government” to stage a mock trial aimed at sentencing Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to death as the tribunal prepares to announce the date for its verdict.
The tribunal, chaired by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder, has completed hearings in the case accusing Hasina and two others of crimes against humanity linked to the July–August 2024 student movement. The court is scheduled to set a date for its judgment on November 13, a development that has heightened political tension across Dhaka.
According to sources close to Hasina, the ICT has been illegally repurposed to pursue a political vendetta against “Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s daughter.”
“Under the guise of judicial proceedings, they have planned to sentence Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to death, driven by the ulterior motive of eliminating her and her party, Bangladesh Awami League, from Bangladesh’s political landscape,” said a source.
The source charged that the democracy-loving people of Bangladesh believe that the “ongoing wave of mob terrorism across the country is being accompanied by acts of judicial terrorism and mockery in the name of trials orchestrated under the directives of Yunus’s extremist group.”
The student movement, which began as a call for reforming the quota system in government jobs, was hijacked by vested groups seeking to incite chaos, Hasina’s allies claimed. “When the Supreme Court reinstated the 2018 abolition of quotas, the issue was resolved,” a source said. “But violence continued, clearly orchestrated to justify the coup and frame the government.” Legal observers sympathetic to Hasina have been questioning the legitimacy of the tribunal itself. They point to 2024 and 2025 ordinances issued without parliamentary approval, which amended the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act of 1973 and introduced Section 20C, disqualifying anyone charged before the ICT from contesting elections or holding public office.
“Based on baseless and imaginary allegations. In blatant defiance of the rule of law, they have initiated one of the most egregious, farcical, and unlawful judicial processes in history,” sources said.
“The entire process is a mockery of justice,” said a source. Prosecutor Gazi MH Tamim has maintained that it is up to the “tribunal to deliver verdict considering arguments and evidence.” He said: “Our responsibility is to attempt proof of the allegations brought by the tribunal and the investigation agency, present evidence, and put forward arguments. The tribunal’s responsibility is to deliver a verdict considering the arguments and evidence. Beyond this, the prosecution has no other responsibility,” he said.
According to Hasina’s associates, more than 600 fabricated cases have been filed against the former PM. “Under the direction of the Yunus government, the ICT Tribunal is completing all necessary manipulations to stage a mock trial aimed at sentencing Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to death. In this trial, none of the lawyers appointed by Sheikh Hasina have been permitted to represent her. No lawyer has been allowed to appear on behalf of Sheikh Hasina or other Awami League leaders,” sources said.