TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Former Prime Minister Bangladesh who is in exile, Sheikh Hasina, orchestrated 'systemic attacks' in an attempt to crush protests against her government. This was revealed by prosecutors during the opening of her trial on Sunday, June 1, 2025.
At least 1,400 people were killed between July-August 2024 when Hasina's government launched its crackdown, according to the United Nations (UN).
Hasina, 77, fled by helicopter to her old ally India when protests led by students ended her 15-year rule. She has defied extradition orders to return to Dhaka.
The domestic International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) is currently trying former senior figures associated with Hasina's ousted government and her now banned party, the Awami League.
"After examining the evidence, we have concluded that it was a coordinated, widespread, and systematic attack," said Mohammad Tajul Islam, the chief prosecutor of the ICT, in his opening speech to the court.
"The accused mobilized all law enforcement agencies and armed party members to crush the demonstrators."
Islam has brought charges against Hasina and two other officials for 'incitement, abetment, involvement, facilitation, conspiracy, and failure to prevent mass killing during the July uprising'.
Hasina, who is still in exile in India, has denied the allegations as politically motivated.
Aside from Hasina, the case also involves former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun - who is in custody but did not appear in court on Sunday. The trial also involves former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, who, like Hasina, is on the run.
Prosecution of senior figures from Hasina's government is a major demand of several political parties currently vying for power. The interim government has promised to hold elections before June 2026.
The trial was broadcast live on state-owned television in Bangladesh.
Prosecutor Islam promised that the trial will be impartial.
"This is not an act of revenge, but a commitment to the principle that in a democratic country, there is no room for crimes against humanity," he said.
Investigators have gathered video recordings, audio clips, phone conversations of Hasina, helicopter and drone movements, as well as statements from victims of the crackdown as part of their probe.
The ICT opened its first trial related to the previous government on May 25.
In that case, eight police officials face charges of human rights violations for the murder of six protesters on August 5, the day Hasina fled the country.
Four officers have been arrested and four are being tried in absentia.
The ICT was established by Hasina in 2009 to investigate crimes committed by the Pakistani army during Bangladesh's 1971 war of independence.
The tribunal has handed down death sentences to several prominent political opponents and is widely seen as a means for Hasina to eliminate her rivals.
Earlier on Sunday, the Bangladesh Supreme Court restored the registration of the largest Islamic party, Jamaat-e-Islami, allowing it to participate in elections.
Hasina had banned Jamaat-e-Islami during her tenure and cracked down on its leaders.
In May, the interim government of Bangladesh banned the Awami League, pending the outcome of its trial and of leaders of other parties.
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