Bangladesh Tribunal Indicts Ousted PM Hasina Over Student Deaths

A special tribunal in Bangladesh has indicted ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, and former Police Chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun on five charges of crimes against humanity related to a mass uprising last year that resulted in hundreds of student deaths. Hasina and Khan are being tried in absentia, as both are reportedly in exile in India; Bangladesh's interim government, led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, has formally requested Hasina's extradition, but India has not responded. Al-Mamun, who was arrested and appeared before the tribunal, pleaded guilty and has agreed to testify against his accomplices as a state witness. The prosecution presented evidence including a leaked audio recording of Hasina, while a petition to drop Hasina and Khan's names from the case was rejected. The tribunal has scheduled the prosecution's opening statement for August 3 and witness testimonies for August 4. Hasina's Awami League party condemned the tribunal as a "kangaroo court," disputing the legitimacy of the trial process.