Bangladesh tribunal files fresh crimes-against-humanity charges against Sheikh Hasina

Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal has filed formal crimes-against-humanity charges against former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and 40 others over a police crackdown on a rally in Dhaka in 2013. The charges were submitted on Monday to the tribunal registrar, according to the prosecution. The case centres on killings during the Shapla Chattar protest by the Islamist group Hefazat-e-Islam.

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Chief prosecutor Aminul Islam said the tribunal had taken into consideration charges against Hasina and the other accused over the killings at Shapla Chattar during the protest rally. The prosecution said warrants were issued for alleged fugitives, including the then military chief, politicians and security officials. It also said nine of the accused, including senior police officials, former ministers and journalists, remain in prison awaiting trial.

The tribunal's investigation found that 58 people were killed in the alleged police action in Dhaka and four other districts on 5 May 2013. The former government led by Hasina acknowledged at least 11 deaths, including five police personnel, in clashes linked to the operation. The crackdown has also been described as a massacre by a rights group, underscoring the continuing dispute over the scale and nature of the violence.

The new charges add to a wider legal and political reckoning around Hasina, who was ousted after a student-led uprising and later fled Dhaka in August 2024. She has been living in New Delhi since then. The tribunal had already sentenced her to death in November last year in a separate case, after a trial in absentia over her alleged superior role in the nationwide crackdown that helped bring down her Awami League government.

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The latest filing is significant because it places a former head of government at the centre of another major accountability case tied to one of the most contentious episodes of her time in office. It also shows that the tribunal's work remains closely linked to the political upheaval that followed her removal from power. For Bangladesh, the case is likely to remain politically sensitive because it involves both past state violence and the current treatment of senior figures from the former administration.

What remains unclear is how quickly the tribunal will move from charge filing to hearings, and how it will proceed against those named as fugitives. It is also not yet clear whether the accused in custody will face the case alongside Hasina or in separate proceedings. The next developments to watch are any further tribunal orders, responses from the defence, and whether the warrants lead to arrests or extradition efforts.

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