A tribunal in Dhaka on Tuesday sentenced seven aides of ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to death in absentia for their roles in trying to crush the country’s 2024 uprising. The three-member tribunal, headed by Justice Nazrul Islam Chowdhury, convicted the men — members of Hasina’s Awami League — of crimes against humanity, including murder, as well as instigating and provoking killings.

Among those convicted are former state minister for information and broadcasting Mohammad Ali Arafat and Awami League General-Secretary Obaidul Quader, who were charged with murder and instigating killings. The other five are AFM Bahauddin Nasim, Sheikh Fazle Shams Parash, Mainul Hossain Khan Nikhil, Saddam Hussain and Sheikh Wali Asif Enan. The tribunal also ordered the confiscation of half the assets belonging to the five men, saying they will be distributed as compensation to the families of those who died or were injured during the crackdown.

State-appointed defence lawyer M Hasan Imam said the seven men were not directly involved in the killings and that the court could have handed down a lesser sentence than death. “They were not directly involved in the killings; they have been convicted due to their fellow activists and supporters,” he said. The convictions are part of a broader reckoning: 68 people have been convicted in cases related to the crackdown, and 22 have been given death sentences. Only four are currently in custody.

Hasina, 78, was sentenced to death by hanging last November for charges of crimes against humanity for her role in the crackdown on the 2024 uprising that led to her fleeing the country she had ruled for 15 years. During the uprising, up to 1,400 people were killed, and thousands were injured by Hasina’s security forces and her supporters, according to the United Nations. Since fleeing, Hasina has been living in exile in India, but she has said she will return to Bangladesh by the end of the year, in December.

Source: www.aljazeera.com