Bangladesh ex-PM Hasina receives sentence of six months in contempt case

Bangladesh ex-PM Hasina receives sentence of six months in contempt case
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Bangladesh’s former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been sentenced to six months in prison for contempt of court by the country’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), Al Jazeera reported. The verdict was delivered in Hasina’s absence, as she remains self-exiled in India following a student-led uprising last August that toppled her government. The sentence will take effect upon her arrest or voluntary surrender.

The contempt charges relate to an audio recording in which Hasina allegedly stated, “There are 227 cases against me, so I now have a licence to kill 227 people.” A government forensic report confirmed the tape’s authenticity. Alongside Hasina, Shakil Akand Bulbul, a senior figure in the banned student wing of her party, was sentenced to two months.

The ICT, originally established in 2010 to prosecute war crimes from Bangladesh’s 1971 independence war, has been repurposed by the interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus to address alleged rights violations and corruption under Hasina’s rule. Hasina’s supporters claim the trials are politically motivated, while the caretaker government insists they are essential for justice and accountability.