Dhaka on edge: Police ordered to shoot protesters ahead of Sheikh Hasina verdict

Security has been tightened across Bangladesh ahead of a special tribunal's verdict against deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina over alleged crimes against humanity.

 

Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal (ICT-BD) will deliver the verdict against the 78-year-old leader on Monday after completing her trial in absentia.

 

The prosecution has demanded the death penalty for the former PM, who has lived in exile in India since fleeing Bangladesh in August 2024.

 

"We have sought the highest possible sentence for Hasina. We also requested seizure of the convicts' property for distribution among families of martyrs and injured victims of last year's violent street protests," ICT-BD prosecutor Gazi MH Tamim told reporters on Sunday.

 

The case against Hasina, then home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and then inspector general of police (IGP) Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun includes charges of murder, attempted murder, torture, and other inhumane acts.

 

The tribunal framed the charges against the trio on July 10.

 

Hasina and Kamal were tried in absentia, with the court declaring them fugitives, while Mamun faced the trial in person but turned approver, as a state witness.

 

The verdict will be streamed on ICT-BD's official Facebook page and broadcast live on state-run BTV.

 

'Shoot protesters'

 

Police in Dhaka have been ordered to shoot violent protesters as tensions have brewed over the law and order situation in the city.

 

"I stated over the wireless that anyone who sets a bus on fire or throws crude bombs with intent to kill should be shot. This authority is clearly provided in our law," Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner SM Sazzat Ali said.

 

His order came after some unidentified people on Sunday night set on fire the vehicle dumping corner of a police station complex. 

 

The protesters also detonated two crude bombs outside the residence of an advisory council member of the interim government, Professor Muhammad Yunus.

 

Hasina's Awami League, which had been disbanded after her removal from the PM post, has announced a two-day shutdown ahead of the ICT-BD verdict.

 

Over the last few weeks, Dhaka has been witnessing sporadic incidents of violence, with unidentified attackers torching vehicles and triggering crude bombs.

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