Hasina’s death sentence 'not an act of political vengeance': Chief Prosecutor Tajul

International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) Chief Prosecutor Tajul Islam has rejected suggestions that the death sentence for deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina over crimes against humanity committed during attempts to suppress the July Uprising represented an "act of political retribution" against her.

In a dramatic reversal of fortune, the capital punishment for Hasina on Monday came from the very tribunal that her government had established to try the war crimes of 1971, bdnews24.com reports. 

Death sentences had been carried out for five top leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami and a member of the BNP by the tribunal during the Awami League’s rule.

Hinting at this history, Tajul said: "We believe this verdict is not any kind of revenge for the past. It is for the nation's commitment and the establishment of justice. This is the nation's quest for justice.

"This verdict proves no matter how big or powerful the criminal is, they are not above the law. And Bangladesh is a state where any criminal, no matter how major, must be held accountable for their crime and receive the punishment they deserve."

A three-member International Crimes Tribunal-1 bench headed by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder delivered the verdict on Monday. The two other members of the tribunal are Justice Md Shofiul Alam Mahmood and retired district and sessions judge Md Mohitul Haque Enam Chowdhury.

In addition to Hasina, the court also sentenced her government's home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to death. Like his party chief, he is also believed to be in exile in India.

The third suspect in the case, former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun has pleaded guilty and turned state witness in the case. Accordingly, the tribunal gave him a reduced sentence of five years imprisonment.

The chief prosecutor said, "If the families of the 1,400 people who gave their lives to end this dictatorship in Bangladesh find even a little peace, that is the achievement of today's prosecution.”

Emphasising that the trial was conducted following “international standards”, he said: "We also want to say the quality of evidence presented here, the type of testimony submitted to this court, will pass the standard of any court in the world.

"And if this evidence is presented in any court around the world, all the defendants who have been punished today will receive that same punishment."

On Jul 10, the tribunal indicted Hasina, Asaduzzman, and Mamun on five charges of inciting, instigating and ordering the killing of 1,400 people to suppress the July Uprising, “superior command responsibility” and “joint criminal enterprise”.