Bangladesh prosecution seeks death penalty for ex-PM Sheikh Hasina over protest killings

DHAKA Bangladesh AP A prosecutor in a special domestic tribunal in Bangladesh sought the death penalty Thursday for ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a scenario involving charges of crimes against humanity in a mass uprising last year that forced her to leave the country During the protests in July and August hundreds of people including students guard officers and political activists were killed in the weekslong violence Chief Prosecutor Tajul Islam in his closing arguments to the International Crimes Tribunal in the capital Dhaka also called for former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan to be sentenced to death because of the gravity of his crimes In his closing the prosecutor left a decision on the sentence for former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun up to the tribunal Al-Mamun who is in custody became a state witness against Hasina and had earlier pleaded guilty Hasina has been in exile in India after fleeing the country on since Aug last year Khan is also presumed to be in India More proceedings are needed to complete the trial before a verdict is rendered Hasina did not appoint any lawyers to represent her and she had earlier rejected the trial process as a kangaroo court The next proceedings will be held Monday A state-appointed counsel for Hasina has sought a week to present his arguments Bangladeshi Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus took over as the head of an interim regime three days after Hasina s fall Yunus vowed to punish Hasina and banned the programs of her Awami League party Islam in his arguments called Hasina the mastermind and principal architect behind the crimes against humanity committed during the uprising The United Nations in a February statement declared up to people may have been killed in the violence while the country s healthcare adviser under the interim ruling body mentioned more than people were killed and about were injured Hasina and her party have raised questions about the figures and demanded independent investigations Referring to the U N figures Islam commented Thursday that if each of the deaths were to be punished separately Hasina should get death sentences He notified the tribunal that Hasina personally ordered the killings No immediate reaction from Hasina s party was available Thursday s advancement came as tensions mount in Bangladeshi politics over the indictments of former and serving military bureaucrats including various former heads of a powerful military intelligence unit They have been indicted in three separate cases that include charges of enforced disappearances during Hasina s -year rule The military reported Sunday that officers were taken in custody and kept in a jail inside the Dhaka Cantonment where army headquarters are located Plenty of of the suspected officers are held to have left the country Yunus has reported repeatedly that an voting would be held in February to hand over power to a democratically elected regime Hasina s Awami League party has little chance to join the race as its initiatives have remained banned Source