The prosecution will appeal against the life sentence given to former prime minister Sheikh Hasina in a crimes against humanity case over the July massacre linked to the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, seeking the death penalty instead.
Prosecutor Gazi MH Tamim disclosed the decision on Monday, saying the appeal would be filed with the Appellate Division later in the day. Further details will be shared during a briefing, he added.
Earlier, on November 27, the prosecution announced its intention to move for an enhanced sentence.
Tamim said Tribunal-1, on November 17, had sentenced Sheikh Hasina and former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to death on one charge, while awarding life imprisonment on another. After receiving the full verdict, the prosecution took a preliminary decision to appeal for upgrading the life sentence to the death penalty within the stipulated 30 days.
On November 17, Tribunal-1 sentenced Sheikh Hasina and Kamal to death by hanging, in addition to life imprisonment, and ordered the confiscation of all their properties in the country.
Former inspector general of police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, who was also accused in the case, was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment.
The verdict was delivered by a three-member bench led by Tribunal-1 Chairman Justice Md Golam Mortuza Majumder, with the full judgment published nine days later.
The prosecution had brought five charges against the three accused. However, the tribunal framed two charges encompassing six incidents in its verdict. Under charge one, three incidents were cited. These included Sheikh Hasina’s alleged provocative remarks branding protesters as Razakars at a press conference at Ganabhaban on July 14, 2024; her conversation with then Dhaka University vice-chancellor Maksud Kamal later that night, in which she allegedly incited violence against protesters; and the failure of the accused to prevent their subordinates from committing crimes, which, according to the tribunal, led to the police killing of Abu Sayeed in Rangpur. For these incidents, Sheikh Hasina and Kamal were sentenced to life imprisonment.
Under charge two, the tribunal cited three more incidents. These included a phone conversation on July 18, 2024, between Sheikh Hasina and former Dhaka South City Corporation mayor Fazle Noor Taposh and JSD President Hasanul Haque Inu, in which she allegedly ordered the use of drones and helicopters to identify and kill protesters with lethal weapons. The tribunal held that the accused again failed to restrain their subordinates.
As a result, six protesters were killed by police at Chankharpul on August 5, 2024, while another six were killed in Ashulia and Savar on the same day, with their bodies later burned. For these incidents, Sheikh Hasina and Kamal were sentenced to death.
The tribunal also ordered the confiscation of all their assets, to be distributed among the victims of the July violence. Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun received a five-year prison sentence on both charges.
