Bangladesh court opens murder case against ousted premier Sheikh Hasina

DHAKA, BANGLADESH: A court in Bangladesh has ordered an investigation into former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s alleged involvement in the death of a grocery shop owner during last month’s student-led protests in Dhaka.

The case, filed by Bangladeshi citizen Amir Hamza against Hasina and six others, was accepted by Dhaka’s chief metropolitan magistrate’s court after a hearing, according to Hamza’s lawyer, Anwarul Islam.

Magistrate Rajesh Chowdhury has directed the police to investigate the case, Islam added.

This is the first case filed against Hasina following a violent uprising that resulted in approximately 300 deaths, many of whom were college and university students.

Hasina fled to India on 5 August and has been seeking refuge in Delhi.

Among the other accused are Obaidul Quader, the general secretary of Hasina’s Awami League party; former Interior Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal; and senior police officials.

Hamza claims that the grocer, Abu Saeed, was killed on July 19 around 4 p.m. (10:00 GMT) when he was struck by a bullet while crossing the street in the Mohammadpur area of Dhaka, as police fired on students and other protesters demonstrating against job quotas in government positions.

Hamza has accused Hasina, who had called for strong measures to suppress the violence, of being responsible for the police firing.

Hamza stated that he is not related to Saeed but chose to file the case voluntarily because Saeed’s family could not afford to do so.

Separately, Sheikh Hasina, in a written statement released on Tuesday through her son based in the United States, called for action against those responsible for “killings and vandalism” in Bangladesh last month.

Hasina, 76, stated that many people died “in the name of revolution” in July.

She demanded that a thorough investigation be conducted into these incidents, with those responsible being identified and appropriately punished.

The deposed leader also called on her supporters to gather in Dhaka on Thursday to commemorate the anniversary of her father’s assassination.

“I urge you to observe National Mourning Day on August 15 with due respect and solemnity,” she said in the statement.

Thursday marks the anniversary of the 1975 assassination of her father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, a hero of Bangladesh’s independence, during a military coup. The date has been declared a national holiday by her government.

This is Hasina’s first public comment since the violent protests, which forced her to seek refuge in India.

On 8 August, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus returned to Bangladesh to lead the interim government. His immediate goal is to restore peace and prepare for new elections.

Bangladeshi student leader Nahid Islam, who is now part of the interim government, recently stated that Hasina should be put on trial for the deaths that occurred during her tenure.

According to her son, Hasina plans to return to Bangladesh once the caretaker government decides to hold elections.

English translation of my mother’s statement:

Dear Bangladesh,

As-salamu alaykum.

Brothers and sisters, on August 15, 1975, the Father of the Nation and the then President of Bangladesh, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was brutally assassinated. I pay my deepest respects to…

— Sajeeb Wazed (@sajeebwazed) August 13, 2024