Dhaka under tight security ahead of tribunal verdict against ex-PM Sheikh Hasina

Dhaka/New Delhi: Bangladesh enforced heightened security across Dhaka and other regions overnight amid sporadic arson and crude bomb attacks ahead of Monday’s verdict by a special tribunal against deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina in a case of alleged crimes against humanity.

Authorities ordered strict military, paramilitary and police vigil after reports that Hasina’s now-disbanded Awami League had announced a two-day shutdown ahead of the International Crimes Tribunal–Bangladesh (ICT-BD) verdict.

Unidentified people on Sunday night set on fire the vehicle dumping corner of a police station complex and detonated two crude bombs outside the residence of an advisory council member of interim government chief.

Professor Muhammad Yunus, besides triggering explosions at several 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 said ICT-BD’s law bars Hasina from appealing in the Supreme Court’s Appellate Division unless she surrenders or is arrested within 30 days of the verdict.

Prosecutors said the verdict would be broadcast live on state-run BTV, with arrangements for its display on large screens at multiple locations in Dhaka.

Only select portions of the judgment would be aired, subject to the tribunal’s final approval. The verdict will also be streamed on ICT-BD’s official Facebook page.

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”.

Security has been tightened across the country to prevent any law-and-order situation.

Hasina, her senior colleagues and several Awami League leaders are accused of crimes ranging from murder to corruption and abuse of power. Monday’s verdict concerns five counts of alleged crimes against humanity linked to last year’s July Uprising.

These include murders, attempted murders, torture and use of lethal force on unarmed student protesters; issuance of orders to deploy lethal weapons, helicopters and drones; and specific killings in Rangpur and Dhaka.

The deposed premier has denied all charges, accusing interim government chief Professor Yunus of orchestrating her ouster under a “meticulous design”. She described him as a “usurper”.

“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.”