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- Hasina refuses court orders to return from India for her trial.
- Bangladesh continues to face political instability since Hasina’s ousting.
- The chief prosecutor assures “justice will be served according to the law”.
Judges in Bangladesh are scheduled to announce their verdict on Monday in the crimes against humanity trial of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, whose case has garnered significant attention ahead of the country’s first elections since her removal from power.
Hasina, 78, has defied court directives to return from India to participate in her trial, which involves allegations that she authorized a brutal crackdown during a student-led uprising that ousted her in August 2024.
Conviction could lead to a death sentence.
Since her removal, Bangladesh has experienced ongoing political unrest, with violence disrupting election campaigning set for February 2026.
The United Nations estimates that up to 1,400 people were killed during crackdowns as Hasina sought to stay in power. These deaths are central to her trial.
“Justice will be served according to the law,” chief prosecutor Tajul Islam stated last week when the verdict date was announced.
“We trust that the court will exercise wisdom and prudence, fulfill the demand for justice, and that this verdict will bring an end to crimes against humanity,” he added.
Prosecutors have brought five charges, including failure to prevent murder, categorized as crimes against humanity under Bangladeshi law.
The trial has included months of testimonies in absentia, accusing Hasina of ordering mass killings. She dismisses the proceedings as a “jurisprudential joke”.
Her co-defendants include fugitive former Interior Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, who has pleaded guilty and is in custody.
Hasina, appointed her own lawyer for the trial, refuses to recognize the court’s authority and has rejected all charges.
In a written interview with AFP in October, she suggested a guilty verdict was “preordained” and said, “I wouldn’t be surprised when it comes.”
Escalating tensions
Security forces encircled the courthouse when the verdict was scheduled last Thursday, with armored vehicles at checkpoints.
Dhaka’s Municipal Police spokesperson Talebur Rahman indicated they would remain on high alert for Monday’s ruling, with numerous checkpoints across the city.
Approximately half of the city’s 34,000 officers will be deployed.
Interim Interior Minister Jahangir Alam Chowdhury told reporters the government was prepared and advised the public to stay calm.
This month alone, Dhaka has seen multiple crude bomb explosions, mainly petrol bombs targeting government buildings, buses, and Christian sites.
Bangladesh’s foreign ministry summoned India’s envoy, demanding that New Delhi stop allowing the “notorious fugitive” Hasina to speak to journalists and prevent her from spreading hate speech.
Despite these developments, Hasina remains defiant.
She expressed regret for the lives lost during the student killings in October, a statement that angered many who saw it as an attempt to cling to power at all costs.
She also warned that banning her party, the Awami League, by the interim government is deepening the country’s political crisis ahead of elections.
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