Leading international human rights lawyers have condemned Bangladesh\u2019s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) for sentencing former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to death in absentia and handing down a two-year prison term to her niece, British Labour MP Tulip Siddiq, describing the trials as a \u201cserious misuse of state authority\u201d that falls far short of international fair-trial standards and risks turning justice into an instrument of political revenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a hard-hitting statement <\/a>issued today, the International Bar Association\u2019s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) warned that the proceedings \u201cappear to fall short of recognised legal standards, signal democratic backsliding and highlight a justice system at risk of being used as an instrument of political contestation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last month, the ICT-BD\u2014originally established in 1973 to prosecute 1971 Liberation War crimes\u2014sentenced Sheikh Hasina and her former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to death for alleged crimes against humanity during the brutal 2024 crackdown on student-led protests that eventually toppled her 15-year government. The same tribunal separately convicted Tulip Siddiq, the Hampstead and Highgate MP and former city minister in Sir Keir Starmer\u2019s government, in absentia on corruption charges related to a land-allocation deal during her aunt\u2019s tenure. Siddiq has categorically denied any wrongdoing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Interview With IANS: Sheikh Hasina grateful to Modi, wary of Pakistan\u2019s growing grip<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite being cursed, Sheikh Hasina expresses concern for ailing Khaleda Zia<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n CPJ paints grim picture of press freedom under Yunus\u2019 mobocracy<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n The IBAHRI stressed that while accountability for human rights violations is essential, \u201call proceedings must uphold international fair trial guarantees\u201d and condemned \u201cthe use of the death penalty in all circumstances.\u201d It highlighted multiple grave procedural flaws in Sheikh Hasina\u2019s case:<\/p>\n\n\n\n – Lack of formal notification of charges <\/p>\n\n\n\n – Denial of representation by counsel of her own choosing <\/p>\n\n\n\n – Reliance on a state-appointed lawyer with whom she has had no communication <\/p>\n\n\n\n – Widespread reports of harassment and intimidation of defence lawyers<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cImposing the death penalty following a trial that did not meet international fair trial standards would effectively amount to summary execution and a clear violation of the right to life,\u201d the institute warned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n IBAHRI co-chair and prominent London barrister Mark Stephens CBE declared: \u201cReports of harassment and intimidation of defence lawyers in the representation of their clients, as in Tulip Siddiq\u2019s case, strike at the heart of the right to a fair trial and undermine the rule of law in Bangladesh. Such practices represent a serious misuse of state authority. The interim government must ensure that legal professionals can work safely and independently and must ensure a genuine commitment to justice, not political retaliation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The statement comes just 24 hours after Sheikh Hasina herself, speaking from exile in India, branded the ICT a \u201ckangaroo court\u201d controlled by \u201ca small group of self-serving and unelected politicians\u201d and accused Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus of using the trials as a \u201csmokescreen\u201d to suppress the Awami League and distract from his own governance failures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jamaat\u2019s ICT-BD: Freedom Fighter Fazlur Rahman forced to tender apology<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Yunus hosts Azerbaijani president\u2019s daughters in money-laundering storm<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Arafat lauds BBC\u2019s Sabir Mustafa for debunking Shapla Chattar massacre<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n The IBAHRI called on the Yunus-led interim government to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n – Immediately halt all executions <\/p>\n\n\n\n – Establish a formal moratorium on the death penalty <\/p>\n\n\n\n – Commit to its full and permanent abolition <\/p>\n\n\n\n – Guarantee the safety and independence of defence lawyers<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since Sheikh Hasina\u2019s ouster in August 2024, the ICT-BD\u2014widely criticised during her own tenure for alleged political bias against opposition figures\u2014has been repurposed by the new administration to target former Awami League leaders and their families. At least five previous death sentences issued by the tribunal have been carried out, raising fears that Bangladesh could move to enforce the latest verdicts through extradition demands or other means.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Child in Chains: Reclaiming justice from the grip of Yunus\u2019 mobocracy<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Odhikar under spotlight for propagating massacre at Shapla Chattar in 2013<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n