India

Bangladesh's Ousted PM Charged With Genocide, Crimes Against Humanity

AUG 14 2024·Updated FEB 10

Story

Above: Bangladesh's then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed delivers a speech during the 25th International Conference on The Future of Asia on May 30, 2019 in Tokyo, Japan. Image credit: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Contributor/Getty Images News via Getty Images

The Facts

A case was filed against former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and eight others, including former ministers, at the country's International Crimes Tribunal on Wednesday on charges of crimes against humanity and genocide.
The Daily Star
Anadolu Ajansı
This comes as at least 400 people have been killed during weeks of anti-government student protests that broke out in July and culminated in her resignation and fleeing to India on Aug. 5, after 15 years in office.
France 24
BBC News
Also on Wednesday, a court in Dhaka accepted an enforced disappearance case against Hasina and five other top officials filed by lawyer and alleged victim Sohel Rana. Claims suggest that hundreds have been abducted by government forces over the past decade and a half.
Business Standard
The Hindu
Voice of America
Two murder cases have also been opened against Hasina and several others, one over the killing of a college student and another over the killing of a grocer — both on July 19 — amid nationwide protests against the civil service quota system.
Prothomalo
CNN
Al Jazeera
Meanwhile, Hasina has issued her first statement since stepping down and fleeing Bangladesh. She called for an investigation into those responsible for the killings during protests, claiming that people had died due to "terrorist aggression."
ap
guardian
NPR
Sworn in as head of the Bangladesh interim government last week, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has urged people to stop attacks against figures from the ousted administration and rather focus on rebuilding the country.
Independent

Sources Split

LEFT

CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

CENTER

PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

Hasina has tacitly confessed to being a criminal when she cowardly decided to flee — or was smuggled — to India once it was clear that her autocratic rule had come to an end. The former prime minister will have much to explain upon her possible return to Bangladesh — and she will have to pay for her crimes.

The Financial Express

Narrative B

Agitators and terrorists have plunged Bangladesh into chaos only to put the blame on Hasina and initiate several politically motivated cases against her and other innocent top officials. This persecution is all too reminiscent of the sacrifices her family — and other martyrs — have had to make for the country.