https://arab.news/yk95m
- According to the United Nations, up to 1,400 people were killed between July and August last year when ex PM Hasina’s government ordered a crackdown on protesters in a failed bid to cling to power
DHAKA: State-appointed defense lawyers sought on Monday to throw out the charges against Bangladesh’s convicted ex-prime minister Sheikh Hasina in her crimes against humanity trial.
Up to 1,400 people were killed between July and August last year, according to the United Nations, when Hasina’s government ordered a crackdown on protesters in a failed bid to cling to power.
Hasina, 77, fled to India at the culmination of the student-led uprising in August and has defied orders to return to Dhaka, where her trial in absentia opened on June 1.
“I sought discharge from all the allegations... as they appear false, fabricated and politically motivated,” Md Amir Hossain told reporters. He added that he had not been able to speak to Hasina directly.
Prosecutors say that Hasina held overall command responsibility for the violence.
Prosecutors have filed five charges against her — including failure to prevent mass murder — which amount to crimes against humanity under Bangladeshi law.
The trial resumes on July 10.
Hasina was already convicted of contempt of court in a separate case on July 2, receiving a six-month sentence.