Former Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina sentenced to six months in jail for contempt of court
PTC Web Desk: A court in Bangladesh has sentenced former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to six months in jail in a contempt of court case. The verdict was delivered by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), according to The Dhaka Tribune.
The three-judge panel of the ICT-1, led by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder, announced that Hasina's jail term will begin from the day she is either arrested or surrenders to authorities. The case is based on a leaked phone call from October last year, in which Sheikh Hasina allegedly said, “As many as 227 cases have been filed against me, so I have obtained a licence to kill 227 persons.” The statement was viewed as a threat to the judiciary and seen as an attempt to influence ongoing war crimes trials, according to the prosecution.
Alongside Hasina, Shakil Akand Bulbul, a political leader linked to the Awami League’s student wing, Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), was also sentenced to two months in jail under the same contempt charge. Bulbul is from Gobindaganj in Gaibandha.
This marks the first conviction against Sheikh Hasina since she was ousted from power in August 2024. Her removal followed mass protests led by the Students Against Discrimination (SAD), a movement that started over government job quota reforms but soon turned into a nationwide uprising. A UN report estimated that around 1,400 persons lost their lives during the violent clashes.
Hasina fled to India on August 5, 2024. Several of her former ministers are now facing legal action over the crackdown that occurred during the protests. Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, aged 85, was appointed interim leader of Bangladesh just days after Hasina’s exit.
- With inputs from agencies
