Former Bangladesh Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, who is currently a fugitive, has denied all accusations of committing crimes against humanity, according to her state-appointed defence lawyer.
The charges stem from a deadly crackdown her government allegedly led during mass protests last year.
The United Nations has reported that up to 1,400 people were killed between July and August during a student-led uprising that Hasinaโs government tried to suppress to stay in power.
Hasina fled to India in August and has refused to return to Dhaka, where her trial in absentia began on June 1.
Charges and Legal Defence
Prosecutors have filed five charges against Hasina: abetment, incitement, complicity, facilitation, conspiracy and failure to prevent mass murder.
These charges qualify as crimes against humanity under Bangladeshi law.
Her lawyer, Amir Hossain, told journalists that Hasina has denied all allegations.
โI will present arguments to seek her discharge from these allegations,โ he said.
The now-banned Awami League, which Hasina led, issued a statement from London calling it a โshow trialโ and stating that Hasina โcategorically denies the charges.โ
Accusations and Co-Defendants
Prosecutors claim Hasina ordered the use of lethal force against protesters, including from helicopters, and incited violence.
Chief prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam alleged that Hasina acted out of a desire to hold on to power.
โHer father had the same obsession with holding on to power,โ he added, referring to Bangladeshโs founding president, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
They also allege Hasina bears overall command responsibility in three key cases that are being tried separately.
These include the murder of 23-year-old student Abu Sayeed, the killing of six people in Chankharpul, and the burning deaths of six others in Ashulia.
Hasina is being tried alongside two other officials. One of them, former interior minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, is also a fugitive.
The other, former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun, is in custody.
The trial is ongoing.
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