Bangladesh on Tuesday began live-streaming the court hearings in the high-profile trial against former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is accused of committing “crimes against humanity” over the July 2024 mass protests.
The hearing started at 11:45 AM and commenced the formal process of finalizing charges, reports Prothom Alo English. The hearing is being conducted before a three-member panel of the International Crimes Tribunal, led by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mojumdar, with Justices Md Shafiul Alam Mahmud and Mohitul Haque Enam Chowdhury also sitting.
The case also involves former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and former IGP Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun. Mamun is in detention now, but both Hasina and Khan are in hiding. Due to their absence, the tribunal has assigned advocate Md Amir Hossain as the state-appointed defence counsel.
The formal charges were initially presented to the court on June 1, during a hearing also telecast live to the general public. The live streaming of the hearings by the tribunal has attracted a lot of attention, with many commentators seeing it as an attempt at transparency in a politically charged case.
The allegations are the result of the government’s response to mass demonstrations in July 2024, which were said to have led to en masse arrests, injuries, and suspected human rights abuses. The tribunal is to resume its hearings within weeks, with the case set to overshadow political debate in the nation.
The live telecast of the trial marks a new era in the jurisprudence of Bangladesh, as the country faces a moment of reckoning with its recent political history.
