Sheikh Hasina sentenced in contempt case: ICT hands ex-Bangladesh PM 6-month jail term; first conviction since ouster
The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) on Wednesday sentenced Bangladesh’s ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina to six months in prison in a contempt of court case, according to the Dhaka Tribune reports.The International Crimes Tribunal-1, with a three-member bench led by Chairman Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder, delivered the judgement, according to local Bangladesh newspaper.The tribunal also handed down a two-month prison sentence to Shakil Akand Bulbul from Gobindaganj in Gaibandha in the same ruling.
This represents the first conviction for the former Awami League leader since she departed office and left the country 11 months ago.
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This comes after prosecutors at the ICT formally charged former Hasina and two others with crimes against humanity, including mass murder, for their alleged role in a violent crackdown last year that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people, last month.The ICT was established by Hasina in 2009 to investigate and prosecute crimes committed by the Pakistani army during Bangladesh’s 1971 war for independence. As a result of the tribunal’s proceedings, six senior leaders of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and one leader from former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party were executed following their convictions. Despite these efforts to address past atrocities, violence persisted in the country. According to a report from the UN rights office, approximately 1,400 people were killed between July 15 and August 15 of the previous year, even after the fall of Hasina’s Awami League government.Read more: Bangladesh begins Sheikh Hasina trial on mass murder charges
