ICT-BD: Sheikh Hasina snubs false charges in illegal court

Awami League President and exiled Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has again rejected the charges against her at the “illegal” International Crimes Tribunal (ICT-BD) and vowed to prosecute the chief prosecutor, Md. Tajul Islam, who earlier defended the war criminals linked to Jamaat-e-Islami.

“All the charges that the Chief Prosecutor has brought against me in that court are false. If someone makes a false accusation in a court, a case will be filed against him…he will be tried someday,” she said in a virtual discussion on Saturday night.

She said that this court is also illegal. In 1973, it was formulated by passing a law in the parliament to try the war criminals. It is clearly written here that war criminals will be tried. Section 11(4) clearly outlines the formation of this court and the process for appointing prosecutors. But they did not follow anything.

Sheikh Hasina terms the tribunal a kangaroo court also because of the four amendments to the law made through executive orders and the appointment of Jamaat-BNP men to the judges’ panel and prosecution.

Moreover, Tajul and several advisers publicly said that the exiled prime minister will be given capital punishment, while the former said that it is more than a revenge trial. The chief prosecutor has also been slammed for admitting to having done the investigation hurriedly, for the wrong translation of the “no treatment, no release” order issued by Sheikh Hasina regarding the injured protesters, and for presenting false and vague evidence.

The Awami League has been observing a series of street protests since November 10, demanding the resignation of usurper, murderer, and militant patron Muhammad Yunus and stopping the farcical trials, with a complete shutdown programme on Monday.

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According to media reports, traffic movement in Dhaka was thin all through Sunday, with very few people on the streets. There was no procession or clash over observing the shutdown. However, in the evening, cocktail blasts were reported in some areas of the capital.

“Those who do injustice and injustice will be judged by the people on Bengali soil one day. So, I will tell everyone that there is nothing to be afraid of. I am alive; I will live. I will do the welfare of the people of the country again. And I will prosecute these criminals,” she said.

Sheikh Hasina reminded Yunus that he would be punished for usurping power illegally and forming the government unconstitutionally. Article 7(b) of the Constitution clearly states that if someone forcibly removes elected representatives from power, they will be punished.

She stated how Yunus and his gang members are admitting the meticulous design to unseat her from power. “When the students made all their demands, we accepted all their demands. After accepting them, I suddenly heard nine demands. I also said, ‘Okay, we will consider that.’ Then came one point. What does that mean?”

She said that they tried to create] a situation of anarchy in the country, destroying socio-economic development and leading the country to ruin.

She said that Yunus and his gangs—Jamaat-Shibir, BNP, and NCP—did the murders. It is clear. They have admitted it themselves: killing the police and setting fire to the metro rail, BTV, and the Setu Bhaban.

But the chief prosecutor told the tribunal that Sheikh Hasina ordered these arson attacks. “They did not broadcast the witness testimonies. Maybe because the witnesses were not taught the things properly after much effort.

“Abu Sayed’s father himself has said that his son was shot in the back of the head. But the whole world knows that Abu Sayed was standing and took the bullet in the chest. The police did not use any metal bullets there. They used rubber bullets. But his postmortem shows the injury marks inside his body, which are unlikely for a person who is shot.”

Sheikh Hasina said that his intestines were ruptured and there were injuries in the chest. “If he were shot, blood and water would not accumulate in his lungs, or water and blood would not come out of his nose. If someone looks at the postmortem very carefully, they will see what is there. Yet, these slanders are being spread all over the world.”

Refuting the charges of crimes against humanity, she said that her government had given shelter to over one million persecuted Rohingyas, remembering the plights of the Bengalis in 1971. “What more humanitarian work can there be than this?”

She said that police members, leaders, and workers of the Awami League and its associated organisations, lawyers, journalists, and cultural activists have been brutally killed, and government institutions have been burned down one after another. “He has given them immunity. By granting Yunus immunity, he has taken responsibility for all these destructive acts and all the killings that have occurred.

“Why immunity? Because they committed crimes, and they were given immunity. No cases can be filed against them. Those who lost their loved ones will never get justice. Those whose homes were destroyed, businesses and institutions were destroyed, people were burned, 460 police stations were looted and set on fire, police were killed, and police constables were killed inside the police station—their families will never get justice. They have blocked the path to justice. What kind of humanity is it?”

Sheikh Hasina said: “We have never given anyone such immunity, nor did we want to take revenge. We established the rule of law in Bangladesh. We established justice. In 1971, all the war criminals who committed genocide in this country were sent to the camps of the Pakistani occupation forces with their mothers, sisters, and women. They were brutally tortured day after day. Their bodies were covered in wounds. Some were pregnant, and some had no way to go home.

“We provided them with health care, treatment, and rehabilitated them in society. All those criminals who took girls from this house, starting from the 14-year-old daughter, and from different areas, and made them objects of enjoyment for the Pakistani occupying forces—I tried them.

“I made arrangements so that these oppressed families get justice. But today, in this court, that court has amended it again. They do not have the right to amend it. Because there is no parliament here. Just by changing this law by issuing an executive order and holding a trial there, justice will not be done. But I do not know why they did it. Since I tried war criminals, this oppression is being done against me to take revenge. Because I did not order anyone to be killed. Dr. Mohammad Yunus gave the order to kill. And on the other hand, if Tareq Rahman could carry out murders, the government would fall.

“Who gave the order to shoot and kill the way the army shot in Gopalganj? It was Dr. Yunus. He gave the order to shoot in the intelligence to save his people. That’s why the army went to protect them and shot five or six people directly. They attacked almost a hundred leaders and activists; the local people, who don’t even do politics, were also shot.

“Again, cases were filed against those who were shot…cases were filed against everyone. And cases were filed against those who were tortured. The torturers are heroes, July heroes. Murderers, arsonists, and those involved in destructive activities became July heroes.”

She recalled that her government had arranged treatment for all the injured. “I did it. I gave treatment… I gave cash… I helped them. And there were many people there—all the children who died and the police who died—I called all those families to Ganabhaban and consoled them and promised them. I formed a Judicial Inquiry Commission to investigate the killings.

“But they blame me. Why didn’t Yunus let the Judicial Inquiry Commission that I formed investigate the deaths? Why didn’t they recover the illegal weapons? Why weren’t those 7.62 bullets recovered? Because Yunus himself supplied them, and they were ordered to do so—that’s why they didn’t investigate the deaths.

“Okay, let them judge. I don’t care about those judgments. God gave life, one day, God will take it away. But I am working and will continue to work for the people of the country.

“I lost my parents and brothers. Then they looted and burned the houses. Ganabhaban is not my own property; it is the government’s. Why so much anger over it? What revolution have they achieved? What kind of revolution? Hooliganism, terrorism, and militant acts don’t lead to revolution,” she said.

“They have turned Bangladesh into a militant state. Bangladesh has to be freed from this. They cannot silence my voice with those attacks and cases and case verdicts. I am on the side of the people. I will be on the side of the people. I will continue to work for the people.

“I will tell my leaders and workers: no one should panic. We have seen these attacks and cases a lot. It is a matter of time. I know that you are suffering now, without a house, family, income, and livelihood. We will not forget the torture they inflicted on all the leaders and workers from top to union level.”

Sheikh Hasina said that she would take the perpetrators into account, as she had tried the killers of the August 15 carnage and the 1971 war criminals and also developed Bangladesh economically. “We showed the world that yes, Bangladesh can.

“Yunus had stopped the money for the Padma Bridge. I showed the world by building the Padma Bridge with my own money. I built a bridge over the Jamuna River, a separate railway bridge. We can do it; the Awami League can do it.

“The fact that we have developed the whole of Bangladesh is an example to the world. In just 15 years, we changed the entire country and improved the quality of life of the people.

“Today, the poverty rate has increased, and the rate of extreme poverty has increased. Today, all the labourers are unemployed, there is no import-export, and there is no production in the country. One after another, industries are closing down. Banks are being looted one by one, and there is no work organisation in the banks. The youth are not getting work. It was not like that during the Awami League era. Even 2-3 lakh boys and girls used to get jobs in private banks every year. They (Yunu and his gang) have also stopped this opportunity. Therefore, Bangladesh must be freed from this situation.”