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DHAKA: Bangladeshi judges will issue the hugely anticipated verdict in the crimes against humanity trial of fugitive former prime minister Sheikh Hasina on November 17, the chief prosecutor said Thursday.
Hasina, 78, has defied court orders to return from India to attend her trial on charges of ordering a deadly crackdown in a failed attempt to suppress a student-led uprising that saw her removal.
“Justice will be served according to the law,” chief prosecutor Tajul Islam told reporters.
“We have completed a long journey and are now in its final phase. The court will pronounce the verdict on the 17th.”
Hasina’s trial in absentia, which began on June 1, heard months of testimony alleging she ordered mass killings.
According to the United Nations, up to 1,400 people were killed between July and August 2024 in her failed bid to hold on to power.
Prosecutors have filed five charges, including failure to prevent murder, amounting to crimes against humanity under Bangladeshi law. They have sought the death penalty if she is found guilty.
“We hope the court will exercise its prudence and wisdom, that the thirst for justice will be fulfilled, and that this verdict will mark an end to crimes against humanity,” Islam added.
Hasina has denied all the charges and called her trial a “jurisprudential joke.”
Her co-accused include former interior minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal — also a fugitive — and former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, who is in custody and has pleaded guilty.
Tensions are high as parties gear up for elections slated for February.
Hasina’s outlawed Awami League had called for a nationwide “lockdown” on Thursday, and there was a heavy deployment of security forces around the court, with armored vehicles manning checkpoints.
A string of crude bombs have been set off across Dhaka this month, mainly petrol bombs hurled at everything from buildings linked to the government of interim leader Muhammad Yunus to buses and Christian sites.
One man was burned to death on November 11 when his parked bus was set on fire.
Bangladesh’s foreign ministry on Wednesday summoned India’s envoy to Dhaka, demanding that New Delhi block Hasina from talking to journalists.
“Harboring such a notorious fugitive... and granting her a platform to spew hatred... are unhelpful to fostering a constructive bilateral relationship between the two countries,” the foreign ministry said, according to Bangladesh’s state-run BSS news agency.