Bangladeshs ousted and self-exiled Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was sentenced to six months in prison by the countrys International Crimes Tribunal on Wednesday in a contempt of lawsuit, a top district attorney said.Hasina has been dealing with several cases since she left to India after fatal student-led protests in August, however it was the very first time the previous leader was sentenced in one of them.Shakil Akand Bulbul, a leader of the Awami League partys banned trainee wing Chhatra League, was also sentenced to two months in jail in the same case, Chief Prosecutor Muhammad Tajul Islam told press reporters.
The party had been led by Hasina for years.A three-member ICT tribunal, led by Justice Golam Mortuza Mozumder, delivered the verdict in their lack, noting that the sentences will work upon arrest or surrender, the district attorney added.The contempt charges originate from a leaked phone taping where Hasina was allegedly heard stating, there are 227 cases against me, so I now have a licence to eliminate 227 people.A forensic report by a government investigative agency later verified the audios authenticity.The ICT was initially set up in 2010 by Hasinas own federal government to try 1971 war crimes.Bangladeshs interim administration, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, promised to hold leaders, including Hasina, liable for rights abuses and corruption, consisting of the crackdown on the student-led uprising last July that toppled Hasinas regime.The tribunal has so far provided 3 arrest warrants for Hasina, including charges of criminal activities against mankind linked to the July violence.
Hasinas Awami League celebration stays banned while trials continue versus the party and its former leaders.Supporters of Hasina dismiss the charges as politically encouraged, however the interim federal government firmly insists the trials are vital for bring back accountability and restoring rely on Bangladeshs democratic institutions.Source: CNN-- Agencies