Bangladesh's former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who was removed from power during mass protests last year, has expressed hope that the ban on her political party will be lifted before the country's general elections scheduled for next year. Hasina made these remarks from India, where she sought refuge in August 2024.
Tribunal Verdict and Security Measures
A special tribunal trying Hasina for crimes against humanity is set to deliver its verdict on Monday. The former leader faces accusations of being the primary architect behind hundreds of killings during protests against her autocratic rule - allegations she strongly denies. Prosecutors have requested the death penalty if she is found guilty.
Security has been significantly strengthened in and around the tribunal located in Bangladesh's capital, Dhaka, ahead of the crucial verdict. This decision represents a pivotal moment for the nation and particularly for relatives of those killed during student-led anti-government demonstrations that ultimately led to Hasina's removal from power.
According to UN human rights investigators, approximately 1,400 people lost their lives when Hasina's government employed systematic, deadly violence against protesters in what appeared to be a failed attempt to maintain power.
Hasina's Defense and Political Future
The former prime minister has declined to return from India to participate in her trial proceedings. In written responses to questions from the BBC, Hasina stated: "We hope that common sense will prevail and that this election ban will be lifted. We have tens of millions of supporters who must not be disenfranchised."
She emphasized that "Whether in government or opposition, the Awami League is part of the national conversation in Bangladesh, and that will not change." Hasina characterized her trial conducted in her absence as a "farce" orchestrated by a "kangaroo court" controlled by her political opponents.
Hasina faces charges of personally ordering security forces to fire upon protesters in the weeks preceding her departure from Bangladesh. She categorically denied these allegations, stating: "I'm not denying that the situation got out of control, nor that many lives were lost needlessly. But I never issued any order to fire on unarmed civilians."
Evidence and Co-accused
Prosecutors have presented the tribunal with evidence over recent months that they claim demonstrates Hasina's guilt. This includes leaked audio from one of her phone calls, verified by BBC Eye earlier this year, which suggested she had authorized the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. This audio recording was played during court proceedings.
Hasina was formally indicted in July this year alongside two other individuals: former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and former inspector general of police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun. Prosecutors have also sought the death penalty for Kamal, who remains in hiding. Mr. Chowdhury pleaded guilty in July but has not yet received sentencing.
Regarding her trial, Hasina asserted that she has been unable to defend herself properly or appoint her own legal representation. She added that her political opponents have targeted her in an effort to "liquidate" her Awami League party as a political force ahead of the February 2026 election.
Her legal representatives issued a statement on Monday confirming they had filed an urgent appeal with the United Nations, raising serious concerns about fair trial and due process issues at Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal.
Additional Allegations and Denials
Hasina's responses to the BBC also addressed other serious allegations of abuses committed during her 15-year administration, which will be examined in a separate case at the special tribunal. The former prime minister denies charges of crimes against humanity in that proceeding as well.
Following her removal from power, authorities discovered several secret detention facilities holding prisoners who had been detained for years without legal process. Numerous other critics and opponents of Hasina who had been abducted or held in these prisons are alleged to have been killed unlawfully.
When questioned about responsibility for these facilities, Hasina stated she "did not have knowledge" of them. She also denied involvement in alleged extra-judicial killings and disappearances, which human rights organizations claim she was responsible for as head of government during her leadership.
"This is denied in terms of my own involvement, but if there is evidence of abuse by officials, let us have it examined properly in an impartial, depoliticized process," she told the BBC.
Hasina and other senior members of her former government additionally face corruption charges in a separate court, which they also deny.
