Shafaqna Pakistan: A Bangladesh court on Tuesday sentenced seven senior aides of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to death in absentia for crimes against humanity linked to the 2024 mass uprising that brought down her government.
The ruling was handed down by a three-member bench of the Dhaka-based International Crimes Tribunal, led by Justice Nazrul Islam Chowdhury.
All seven convicted individuals remain at large and are believed to be living in self-imposed exile across India and the United States.
The court sentenced former Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader, former State Minister for Information Mohammad Ali Arafat, Joint General Secretary AFM Bahauddin Nasim, Youth Wing Chairman Sheikh Fazle Shams Parash, Youth Wing General Secretary Moinul Hossain Nikhil, Student Wing President Saddam Hussain, and General Secretary Sheikh Wali Asif Enan.
The tribunal also ordered the confiscation of half of the assets belonging to Quader, Nasim, Arafat and Parash. The seized assets will be used to compensate families of people who were killed or injured during the July uprising, according to the verdict.
Hasina herself was sentenced to death by the same tribunal last November over crimes against humanity and her alleged role in the violent crackdown during the protests that ultimately forced her government from power.
The United Nations has estimated that at least 1,400 people were killed and thousands more injured during the unrest, which involved security forces and supporters of Hasina’s Awami League.
Hasina fled Bangladesh and has been living in neighbouring India. She has nevertheless said she intends to return to Bangladesh in December.
With the latest verdicts, 68 people have now been convicted across seven judgments issued by the two tribunals, while 22 have received death sentences. Eighteen of the accused remain at large, while four are currently in custody.
Source: Dunya News
