- 18 hours ago
This special report covers the death sentence handed to ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina by a special tribunal for crimes against humanity during the 2024 student uprising. The programme details the reaction from the interim government led by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, which calls the verdict historic, and the subsequent political turmoil and protests across Bangladesh. It features an interview with Mohibul Hasan Chaudhary, former Education Minister in Sheikh Hasina's cabinet, who provides the Awami League's perspective on the trial. Mr. Chaudhary stated, 'It was a completely a sham trial in an illegal court, by a group of people who simply wants to take revenge'. The report also includes insights from journalists in Dhaka on the evidence presented during the trial, including audio and video clips.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Good evening, this is the News Track and I'm Maria Shaquille. The headlines at 5.
00:05Ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina sentenced to death.
00:10Court says Hasina committed crime against humanity and knew about firing on students.
00:15Hasina rejects charges, cries witch hunt.
00:23Biggest scoop on Delhi's suicide case, Barbary revenge, Fidain plot unraveled.
00:30Dr. Umars may have been a shoe bomber.
00:34Mother of Satan, explosive TATP traces found.
00:41Indian Army's dire warning to Pakistan after Delhi blasted Army Chief's picture.
00:47Now there is a warning to Pakistan, the Army Chief says.
00:50Operation Sindhour's trailer picture is still there.
00:541.0, I would like to say that the movie didn't start.
00:58It didn't happen. It was only a trailer, and after the trailer, it was 18 hours more.
01:0342 Indian pilgrims charged to death.
01:08Bus tanker collision in Mecca kills 42.
01:12Massive tragedy in Islam's holiest city.
01:16External Affairs Minister shows support of victims' families.
01:19Nitish Kumar to take oath as Chief Minister on Thursday, that is November 20th, meets Governor Arif Mohamed Khan at Raj Bhavan with his cabinet.
01:31It's a stunning twist in Bangladesh's political saga, Sheikh Hasina, once the country's longest-serving prime minister,
01:47once the towering Iron Lady of Dhaka, but now finds herself on the other side of history.
01:53A special tribunal has sentenced her to death, accusing her of abuse of power and targeted killings during her tenure.
02:02But Sheikh Hasina is calling it a witch hunt, backed by Yunus regime, determined to erase the Abami League's footprint from Bangladesh's political landscape.
02:12That's what the former prime minister says.
02:15While some international observers are calling this prosecution unprecedented, others called it political vengeance, masquerading as justice.
02:25For Bangladesh, it is a movement that reopens wounds of its turbulent past.
02:30It has once again plunged into chaos.
02:34For Sheikh Hasina, this may be the defining battle of a political lifetime.
02:38So what's next for her?
02:39Will the Modi government back Bango Bandhu's beti?
02:45Will Mujibur Rahman's daughter make a comeback?
02:50There's a piece of breaking news coming in now, ladies and gentlemen.
03:00And this is with regards to the statement which has been put out by the Yunus interim government on Sheikh Hasina's verdict.
03:07The government has said that the death sentence announced against former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and former home minister Asadu Zama Khan Kamal for crimes against humanity is a historic verdict.
03:21And Yunus government also says that realizing the profound significance of this verdict, the government is calling on the people of all walks of life to remain calm, restrained and responsible.
03:33But I think this is an important part because there were reports coming in from several parts of Bangladesh that there were protests starting to take place on ground.
03:42Everyone is being specially requested to refrain from any kind of disorder, provocative behavior, violence or illegal activities in the post-verdict period.
03:52This verdict, which has been long awaited by the people, especially the relatives of the martyrs of the July uprising, may naturally generate emotions in public mind.
04:04We have Anupam on the phone line joining us.
04:06A sharp statement coming in and also an appeal that there has to be calm and responsible behavior on the part of the public.
04:14Well, you know, the situation in Bangladesh is still tense, but we have also been informed that few incidents have been happening, especially Dhanmundi, the residence of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
04:31A crowd of around 300 to 400 people have gathered in front of the house and they wanted to dismantle the house completely and wanted to have a field in place of the house.
04:43But security forces were there and a clash happened between security forces and protesters.
04:52Security forces have resorted to a tear gas cell also.
04:56So, situation in some parts of the area is still tense.
05:00One bus has been torched in Mirpur area, that is what we also know.
05:06But in spite of these two-three incidents, we are not getting much more reports of incidents in Bangladesh.
05:14But the situation is still very tense and security forces have been beefed up.
05:20Security has been beefed up in every part, especially the Indo-Bangladesh border and in and around Dhaka.
05:28Another question to you.
05:30The government of Mohammed Yunus says that this is a historic verdict because the martyrs of the July uprising are waiting for this.
05:45And it's bound to generate some kind of emotions in the public mind.
05:50But any attempt at anarchy kiosk must be strictly suppressed.
05:55So, are you sensing that there is a possibility of some kind of backlash that the Yunus government is sensing?
06:00Well, you know, there is still 20 to 30% of people are there in Bangladesh who are very sympathetic to Awami League and to support Sheikh Hatina.
06:12The supporters of Sheikh Hatina are also there in Bangladesh.
06:17So, in the wake of this verdict, it is anticipated that some kind of clash may erupt.
06:22And that is why Bangladesh administration has taken this kind of step.
06:26Just hold on to your thoughts now.
06:28Mohibul Hassan Chaudhary, former education minister in Hasina's cabinet, is joining us live now.
06:35Mr. Chaudhary, I appreciate your time here on India Today.
06:37Your first reactions, the interim government of Bangladesh is calling it historic.
06:44You say that this is biased, politically motivated charade.
06:49But what is the evidence that you have to say so?
06:53You see, the constitution of the tribunal itself is illegal.
06:59This tribunal was meant to try for the crimes committed in 1971.
07:05That was the mandate of this tribunal.
07:08This interim government did not have any mandate, constitutional or through the court,
07:15to amend an act of parliament through a temporary law.
07:20Now, they have done that.
07:22They have included the incidents of 2024 into the mandate of this court, which is totally illegal
07:31because there is no parliament in session.
07:34And through this illegal tribunal, they have held a completely one-sided trial
07:40where our leader was not allowed to represent herself.
07:45Some of the senior lawyers of the Dhaka court, they wanted to fight on her behalf, but they
07:50were denied.
07:51They were not allowed to appear on her behalf.
07:54A state, I mean, the current interim government, the prosecution side, appointed a Jamaat-i-Islami
08:01activist lawyer on her behalf.
08:04So, it was a completely sham trial in an illegal court by a group of people who simply wants
08:12to take revenge for the trials of their leaders who were collaborators of 1971.
08:19It is the same tribunal where they were tried.
08:22And this tribunal doesn't have the jurisdiction, the authority to try any regular riot incident
08:28or a criminal allegation.
08:31At the same time, the police have also filed hundreds of thousands of cases of murder charges
08:41against our leaders.
08:42But they know that if they were to follow regular criminal procedure, they are not going to
08:48successfully convict us.
08:50Because you have to have a basic standard, a minimum standard of criminal culpability.
08:59And you have to prove that.
09:00In this tribunal, none of this exists.
09:03It was a camera trial.
09:04It was a camera trial broadcasted across the country in order to shore up emotion, in order
09:10to whitewash the crimes of 1971.
09:14And this is what they have done.
09:16They have taken revenge for their, for what we need.
09:20But Mr. Chaudhary, the government says that July charter reforms is an essential to prevent
09:26authoritarianism.
09:29And this entire trial actually aligns with that.
09:34And if you look at the statement which has been issued just a few minutes ago, it says that
09:38it's a historic verdict because it was long awaited by the people, especially the relatives
09:45of the martyrs of the July uprising.
09:49July charter itself is an illegal charter.
09:54It purports to amend the constitution.
09:58These people are not elected by the people to amend the constitution.
10:02Political parties have not even agreed on the July charter.
10:06BNP has signed with note of dissent.
10:10Except for Jamaat-e-Islami, every other political party has given their note of dissent against
10:18this so-called July charter.
10:20If they are to change the constitution or to prevent authoritarianism or whatever they want
10:27to call it, they need mandate from the people.
10:29Who are they?
10:30First of all, they have just arrived from abroad, sat in the chair of government, and are just
10:36running the country without consulting anyone.
10:39Let us have an election.
10:41Let us have an election.
10:42Let the people decide who they want in government.
10:48Until and unless that happens, each and every action of this interim regime is constitutionally
10:53illegal.
10:53So, they just want to justify it by PR measures.
11:00They want to hold a camera trial, which they have done.
11:02We knew this was all coming.
11:04This is all planned.
11:05This was all planned.
11:06As they had planned our ouster last year, which they themselves said was a meticulously designed
11:13mission.
11:13But, Mr. Chaudhary, if you look at it, it says very clearly that there were people who
11:20were part of this international crimes tribunal who had turned approvers as well.
11:29They were people who were part of it.
11:35So, there were three-member tribunal, which was headed by Justice Majumdar, who pronounced
11:40that judgment, which includes former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and two of her former
11:46aides.
11:47But it also said that the former police chief had sought an apology from the tribunal and
11:53the people of the country.
11:55And hence, Mr. Kamal, who was the former Home Minister, and Sheikh Hasina were declared
12:01fugitives and tried in absentia.
12:04Do you think a former Prime Minister should go back to the country and face justice?
12:11Among the people.
12:12No country in the world will extradite Sheikh Hasina because the whole trial was such a
12:18false, a regular criminal procedure was not followed during this trial.
12:26So, it cannot be said it was a fair trial.
12:30Standard criminal trial requires time.
12:32You have to submit evidence.
12:34Just because they have turned one of the accused into an approver under duress, who was the inspector
12:43general of police, because he was told that otherwise he will also be getting death penalty.
12:49In order to save his life, his family had decided to turn him into an approver.
12:54But what about the evidence that they have submitted?
12:57No one was allowed to question any of the evidences.
13:00They had played audio records, but there's no reference to the source.
13:06But they are talking about the judges actually had noted that the prosecution's witnesses proved
13:12that the attack on the Dhaka University students was by the Avami League wings, including the
13:18Chhatra League and the Yuva League.
13:21This is what the court is saying.
13:23Interestingly, no one had died in the Dhaka University.
13:27What they had claimed that the Dhaka University students were instructed by us to start the fight
13:33within the university campus.
13:35No one, not a single person has died within the Dhaka University.
13:39That instruction, if it was true, cannot be used to blame for each and every death during
13:47the time.
13:48Even the number of deaths is disputed.
13:51The government so far has come up with a list of 800, of which many within the list are
14:01actually our activists and police security force members.
14:05Mr. Chaudhary, what next for former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina?
14:10What is the legal course that you can take?
14:13We will not take any legal action.
14:15We will not, because we are not represented.
14:17We are not allowed to give any lawyer.
14:20So it was a one-sided trial.
14:22We could not give a lawyer.
14:23So we can't even file an appeal.
14:25We do not have any lawyer present in there.
14:28They have appointed a state-appointed prosecutor who was under their pay and instruction.
14:34So we don't even have a lawyer.
14:37They will now claim that they are going to appeal to the appeal court, the Court of Appeal,
14:42the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court.
14:45But it's just a PR measure in order to exclude her from the next election.
14:52What is now left for us is to protest and work to oust this illegal government.
14:59But how do you protest by staying in India or outside Bangladesh?
15:05No, 90% of our activists are in the ground.
15:10Some of them are in jail.
15:12We are not abroad.
15:14Not all of us are abroad.
15:16Yes, our leader is abroad, but majority of our leaders are in the country.
15:20They are in hiding because they are being arrested and hunted down and persecuted.
15:25So we know how to tackle and protest.
15:31We know how to deal with authoritarian regimes.
15:33Okay, just my last question then.
15:35Is there a possibility that just ahead of elections, the former prime minister will be going to Bangladesh?
15:40Just ahead of elections.
15:42If we are able to oust this government, we will not allow this government to hold any election.
15:48They don't have any right.
15:50They cannot hold a one-sided election and we will boycott it.
15:54We will challenge it and we will do our best for the election not to be held.
15:59All right.
16:00Mohibbul Hassan Chaudhary, former education minister of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina's cabinet.
16:06Really appreciate your time.
16:07Thank you for joining us.
16:08Mohamed Kamruz-Zama is a journalist joining me from Dhaka in Bangladesh.
16:12Subir Bhamek, senior journalist and author, also joins us.
16:16Mr. Kamruz-Zama, here is Sheikh Hasina, who is clear that this is a kangaroo court which actually came up with this verdict.
16:25It doesn't really have the legal standing or legal wherewithal to pass a judgment of this nature against her.
16:32Thank you for having me.
16:35Actually, I, as a journalist, want to say what I have seen here.
16:40And I followed the trial process of this International Crimes Tribunal, even during the tenure of Sheikh Hasina, when there was trial for crimes against humanity in 1971.
16:52However, regarding this trial, what I saw is that the International Crimes Tribunal hearing was held and many documents were submitted before the court for judgment.
17:05And even in those documents, there were video clippings of torturing and killing during the July Massive Tribunal last year.
17:15And even there were some audio clips where Sheikh Hasina was heard to instruct for killing the protesters.
17:24And according to the claim of the prosecution, those audio clips were verified and were examined through professional means.
17:34Even some international media also verified some audio clips.
17:38And finally, those audio clips have been proved as the audio clip of Sheikh Hasina.
17:43If those audio clips are true, in that case, Sheikh Hasina clearly instructed to kill the protesters.
17:52So that has been proved here in the court.
17:55And even today, during the reading of the verdict, more than two hours it took to read the key parts of the verdict.
18:04And there, the judge read out those mostly quote and unquote, where we heard that Sheikh Hasina sometimes talked with cabinet members like Hassan Olok Inu,
18:17even like with Omaidul Qadir, former communication minister, and even Dhaka City South, Muir, Fajir Nurtapur.
18:25So there are so many audio clips.
18:26And in this tribunal also, the visuals, even through some YouTube channels, those which were published.
18:36So everything, visuals, audio and newspaper, even international media reports, everything was produced.
18:43And today, some people who were injured during the last year's mesoprizing, some lost their legs, some eyes.
18:51They also came here.
18:53And the relatives of martyrs also came here.
18:56So it's really very strong that Sheikh Hasina instructed to kill the protesters during the last year's mesoprizing.
19:03Okay, Subir Bhamek, your thoughts on what's happening in Bangladesh?
19:10Well, I'm not willing to get into, you know, commenting on the process of the trial for a very simple reason that, you know, I was not there.
19:20And unlike Kamru Zaman, I've not covered the trial.
19:23But three things are very clear.
19:25This is an in-absentia trial where a BAMI league could not put up their own lawyers.
19:31This is number one.
19:33That's right.
19:33Number two, number two, the lawyer who was assigned as the defense counsel, you know, he had to contend with it.
19:42And he was not only representing Sheikh Hasina, he was also representing Mr. Kamal.
19:46The defense of the two ministers could be widely different.
19:49You know, you cannot assume that they will be the same.
19:52This is number two.
19:53And this is not me saying, but people in Bangladesh are saying this.
19:56Number three, very important, you know, he didn't produce a single defense witness.
20:04You see, all these edited clips that Kamru Zaman is talking about, today even BBC is on the box.
20:11When they have produced some clips of Mr. Trump, which were clearly spliced with the modern technology and AI, you can splice together clips and clearly use your voice out of context or what you are saying out of context.
20:25This is number three.
20:27Number four, there was clearly an agitation which was turning violent.
20:33Okay.
20:33Today, with this new agitation by the AWAMI league now, you know, orders have been given to shoot at sight.
20:42Okay.
20:42So what wrong did Sheikh Hasina do?
20:45I mean, any government which is challenged with sustained street protests, which tend to turn violent, would do the same thing that Sheikh Hasina did, you know, use law and order in a strong way.
20:58At the moment also, the government, the Metropolitan Police Commission, that should kill anybody finding violence.
21:05So any government would do that kind of a thing.
21:07You see, when there is a serious threat to public order.
21:12All right.
21:12And number five.
21:13Thank you for joining us.
21:15We have really come to the end of this discussion, Subir and Mr. Kamruz Zama.
21:20There is a piece of breaking news which is coming in now.
21:23And this is coming in from Patna, where Lalu Yadav has bagged Tejasvi as his successor.
21:28And this was during an R.J.D. meeting which was held at the residence of Lalu Yadav, which is 10 circular road in Patna.
21:37Remember, R.J.D. had contested 143 seats and managed to win just 25.
21:43It's worst performance ever.
21:45It retained a vote share of 23 percent, just a few decimals down from its 2020.
21:50This becomes important because this is coming at a time when the family differences is playing out in full public view.
21:58Lalu Yadav's elder daughter, Rohini Acharya, has come out all guns blazing against the close group of leaders who are around Tejasvi Yadav.
22:07And she has accused them of hurling abuses at her and has made some very, very serious personal abuses and charges against Sanjay Yadav, a close aide of Tejasvi Yadav.
Recommended
1:30
Be the first to comment