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.
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.