News Agency
\nDhaka
\nBangladesh on Sunday began the first trial at a special court prosecuting former senior figures connected to the ousted government of Sheikh Hasina, the chief prosecutor said.
\nThe court in the capital Dhaka accepted a formal charge against eight police officials in connection with the killing of six protesters on August 5 last year, the day Hasina fled the country as the protesters stormed her palace.
\nThe eight men are charged with crimes against humanity. Four are in custody and four are being tried in absentia.
\n\u201cThe formal trial has begun,\u201d Tajul Islam, chief prosecutor of Bangladesh\u2019s domestic International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), told reporters. \u201cThe prosecution believes that this prosecution will be able to prove the crimes done by the accused.\u201d
\nIt is the first formal charge in any case related to the killings during last year\u2019s student-led uprising, which ended Hasina\u2019s iron-fisted rule of 15 years.
\nUp to 1,400 people were killed between July and August 2024 when Hasina\u2019s government launched a brutal campaign to silence the protesters, according to the United Nations.
\nThe list of those facing trial includes Dhaka\u2019s former police commissioner, Habibur Rahman, who is among those being tried in absentia.
\nHasina also fled by helicopter to India, her old ally. She remains in self-imposed exile, defying Dhaka\u2019s extradition request to face charges of crimes against humanity.
\n\u2018Command responsibility\u2019
\nThe launch of the trials of senior figures from Hasina\u2019s government is a key demand of several of the political parties now jostling for power as the South Asian nation awaits elections that the interim government has vowed will take place before June 2026.
\nIslam said the eight men were accused of \u201cdifferent responsibilities\u201d, including the most senior for \u201csuperior command responsibility, some for direct orders \u2026 [and] some for participation\u201d.
\nHe said he was confident of a successful prosecution.
\n\u201cWe have submitted as much evidence as required to prove crimes against humanity, both at a national and an international standard,\u201d he said.
\nAmong that evidence, he said, was video footage of the violence, as well as voice recordings of Hasina in \u201cconversations with different people where she ordered the killing of the protesters using force and lethal weapons\u201d.
\nThe ICT was set up by Hasina in 2009. It sentenced numerous prominent political opponents to death over the following years and became widely seen as a means for Hasina to eliminate rivals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
News Agency Dhaka Bangladesh on Sunday began the first trial at a special court prosecuting former senior figures connected to the ousted government of Sheikh Hasina, the chief prosecutor said. The court in the capital Dhaka accepted a formal charge against eight police officials in connection with the killing of six protesters on August 5 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":440131,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-480816","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n