Hasina Tried for Deadly 2024 Protest Crackdown

A leaked, independently authenticated phone call has revealed that former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina personally ordered security forces to use lethal weapons against protesters during the July and August 2024 unrest over the civil service job quota system. The BBC, forensic experts, and Bangladesh's Criminal Investigation Department verified the recording, which captured Hasina's directive from her official residence on July 18, 2024, to 'shoot wherever they find [them].' The crackdown resulted in at least 1,400 deaths, according to UN investigators, with a massacre in Dhaka's Jatrabari area on August 5, 2024, accounting for at least 52 deaths—more than previously reported. The tape is central to Hasina's ongoing trial in absentia for crimes against humanity, with charges including incitement, conspiracy, and mass killings. Hasina fled to India following her government's collapse, while her Awami League party denies unlawful intent and questions the recording's authenticity, despite forensic validation. The incident continues to draw significant international scrutiny given the scale and substantiated evidence of the government's response.