A tribunal in Bangladesh sentenced former prime minister Shiekh Hasina to death the on charges of crimes against humanity and also indicted former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal on similar charges.
A three-judge panel of the International Crimes Tribunal, Bangladesh's domestic war-crimes court, sent out summons to both individuals to stand trial due to their alleged involvement in attempting to violently put down the student-led protests against their administration using armed forces.
The alleged state sponsored violence may have led to the deaths of more than 1,400 people, according to the United Nations Human Rights Office.
Both Hasina and Kamal fled the country, with the former staying in New Delhi, while the latter's exact whereabouts are unknown as of now.
About Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal
Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal was the home minister during Hasina's tenure as prime minister in 2024. He, on behalf of Hasina, provided a verbal instruction for state-sanctioned armed forces to use "maximum force" against the student protesters, according to a report submitted by Border Guard Bangladesh to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The protests were over quota reforms in government jobs, led by student activist organisation Students Against Discrimination.
After the Hasina's Awami League-led government was deposed, Kamal reportedly fled the country illegally. He is also facing charges regarding corruption, where Kamal along with his associates and family members were accused of engaging in bribery in recruitment, money laundering, amassing wealth illegally and misuse of power.
Along with the crimes against humanity charge for the fatal violence that he was allegedly involved in, Kamal also faced a murder complaint for the death of grocer during July 2024 student protests.
Background
Kamal had fought in the Bangladeshi war for independence against Pakistan in 1971 as a part of the Mukti Bahini. He soon pursued a career in politics becoming a member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee from 2009-2013 as a part of the Awami League, which played a key role in Bangaldesh's independence struggle.
Kamal maintains that the proceedings against him are "revenge" for the liberation war.
"Everything is fake, it is a conspiracy hatched to take revenge for what happened in 1971," he said, in an interview with CNBC TV-18.
He termed the proceedings to be bereft of credibility and transparency. He alleged that the Chief Justice did not attend the court for 15 days and prepared the judgement on his own, calling the whole affair, "pure drama."
"In the digital arena, Artificial Intelligence can be used to alter anything. There is no physical evidence. How can someone be convicted on the basis of digital evidence?" Kamal said.
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