'Nothing but a kangaroo court': Ex-Indian envoys criticise verdict against Sheikh Hasina

New Delhi: After a special tribunal in Bangladesh sentenced ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina to death, several former Indian envoys on Monday criticised the verdict and said the neighbouring country is once again "very polarised" which does not augur well for its stability and security.

Veteran diplomat Veena Sikri, who served as India's high commissioner to Bangladesh from 2003-2006, asked what legality does the country's International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) has in trying a former prime minister, when it was appointed for trials only of those who had done war crimes in the 1971 Liberation War.

"It is nothing but a kangaroo court," she alleged.

Hasina was on Monday sentenced to death in absentia by the ICT for "crimes against humanity" over her government's crackdown on student-led protests last year.

In its verdict that followed a months-long trial, the ICT described the 78-year-old Awami League leader as the "mastermind and principal architect" of the violent repression that killed hundreds of protesters. It also handed the death sentence to former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal on similar charges.

Hasina has been living in India since she was deposed as prime minister of Bangladesh on August 5 last year following massive violent protests.

Ex-envoy Sikri told PTI that the ICT was appointed only for trials of those who had done war crimes in the 1971 war.

"So, under what act have you changed the purpose of the ICT," she asked.

The premise on which Hasina has been tried "doesn't hold water at all, it is an illegal process", the former envoy charged.

Sikri also suggested that there were many "loopholes and lacunae" in the investigative process, while asserting that "ICT is not a tribunal to try a prime minister".

Former diplomat Rajiv Dogra said India has "done the right thing" in sheltering Hasina, because she is "an important leader, under whose party, Bangladesh's democracy has always prospered".

Of course, there were certain issues towards the last part of the rule, and she was on the way to "rectify" those, he said.

Asked what would be the strategic impact on the region following this development, he said "impact is certainly not very happy".

He criticised "provocative" statements which have been issued in the past by Bangladesh's Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus and many of his colleagues in the interim government in Dhaka that took charge after the fall of the Hasina government.

"It is certainly a matter of worry for India and the region to have an unstable regime in Bangladesh," Dogra said.

Anil Trigunayat, another former Indian envoy, said the judgement by the tribunal in Bangladesh is "on the expected lines".

"The problem is that this is being perceived as a fight between the accusations and the illegitimacy... Sheikh Hasina considers both Mr Yunus' government and the tribunal's judgment, as being politically-driven, and... hounding her, and baseless, as well as illegitimacy of the government," he said.

Whereas the interim government basically is considering this as a "crime against humanity". And accordingly, she has been sentenced to death for three counts, Trigunayat said.

He cautioned that Bangladesh is "once again very thoroughly polarised and divided and it does not augur well for the stability and security of the country". "And that is something which is worrisome."

"Of course, it is important that there is a smooth transition, a democratic transition in the country. And we hope that for the sake of Bangladeshis that they get peace, stability, and development, as deserved by ordinary Bangladeshi people.

"But at the same time, today a politically divided country has the potential of further destabilisation and which will not be good for the country as well as for the subcontinent," Trigunayat added.

Sikri also said the stability of the region can only be affirmed when there is "free, fair, inclusive and credible elections" in Bangladesh.

She said the Awami League must be "allowed to fight elections", saying "they have no right to blame the activities of the party".

"You cannot ban any party from taking part in elections, it is a ban on democracy."

Hours after the verdict, Hasina in a statement said she was not afraid to face her "accusers" in a proper tribunal where the evidence can be weighed and tested fairly.

"That is why I have repeatedly challenged the interim government to bring these charges before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague," the Awami League leader said.

The ICT, originally set up to try hardened collaborators of Pakistani forces during the 1971 Liberation War, was amended by the current administration to bring leaders of the past regime, including Hasina, under its jurisdiction.

India on Monday said it noted the verdict and that it will engage constructively with all stakeholders considering peace, democracy and stability in the neighbouring country.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said India remains committed to the best interests of people of Bangladesh.