Dhaka, June 1: Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) on Sunday indicted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and two others on multiple charges, including mass murder, in connection with a violent crackdown on student-led protests last year.
The indictment marks the formal beginning of Hasina’s trial, which is being conducted in absentia, nearly 10 months after her government was removed from power amid nationwide demonstrations.
“We do hereby take into cognisance the charges,” announced the three-member ICT-BD bench headed by Justice Golam Mortuza Majumdar, following the submission of charges by the prosecution. The accused have been charged with using excessive and lethal force to suppress the protests.
