Hasina sentenced for six months - Daily Times Of Bangladesh

Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been sentenced to six months’ imprisonment by the International Crimes Tribunal-1 (ICT-1) in connection with a contempt of court case.

The three-member tribunal, headed by its Chairman Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumdar delivered the verdict on Wednesday.

As a result, Sheikh Hasina has been sentenced for the first time since going into hiding. This marks the first instance in which the former PM has been sentenced by the tribunal since the July revolution.

On 26 May, the ICT-1 published notice on two national dailies, asking Hasina and leader of banned Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) Shakil Akand Bulbul to appear before it on 3 June and give explanations over a contempt of court application brought against them by the prosecution.The contempt charges were brought against them for comments made about the cases related to the July mass uprising.

In a leaked audio recording, later verified by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) as Hasina’s voice, she reportedly said, “I’ve had 227 cases filed against me, so I’ve got a licence to kill 227 people.”

The ICT accepted the contempt plea on 30 April and ordered both accused to submit written responses by 15 May.

When they failed to comply with, the court ordered their appearance on 25 May, which was also ignored. The court then approved newspaper summons at the chief prosecutor’s request.