Sheikh Hasina created the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in 2010 to look into crimes during the nation’s independence struggle against Pakistan.
According to an AFP story on Monday, a tribunal that former Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina set up to look into war crimes in her country has opened three investigations into the accusations of mass murder made against her.
Over 450 people died during a month of student-led protests against Hasina’s 15-year reign, many of them from gunfire from the police. On August 5, she resigned as prime minister and fled to India.
The tribunal’s investigator claims that the main focus of these inquiries is the upheaval that led to Hasina’s exit from the nation.
Deputy director of the tribunal’s investigative cell Ataur Rahman stated that the cases were connected to “mass murder” and that they were currently gathering preliminary evidence.
According to him, private citizens started all three cases, and several Hasina’s former senior aides have also been identified.
The charges concern acts of violence in the neighborhoods of Savar, Munshiganj, and Mirpur, which are close to the capital, Dhaka.
Local media sources state that at least fifteen complaints have been brought against Hasina by local police departments around the country. Murder and “crimes against humanity” are allegations in several of these instances, which stretch back to the latest turmoil.
Hasina established the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in 2010 to look into crimes committed during Bangladesh’s liberation struggle against Pakistan. The ICT, led by Hasina, has executed more than 100 people, including a number of her political rivals.
Rights organizations have criticized the ICT for not abiding by international agreements. Numerous human rights violations, including the extrajudicial execution of thousands of political opponents, have been attributed to Hasina’s regime.
Strong signs that Bangladeshi security forces responded to the student-led movement with excessive force were reported by the UN on Friday.
The UN human rights office said in a preliminary report that “there are strong indications, warranting further independent investigation, that the security forces used unnecessary and disproportionate force in their response.”
A number of other abuses were also noted in the study, including extrajudicial executions, arbitrary detentions and arrests, forced disappearances, torture, and maltreatment.
