The International Crimes Tribunal has sentenced ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to life imprisonment and death penalty in a case of crimes against humanity. However, the tribunal area is still surrounded by security.

Police, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and army personnel have been providing security around the tribunal and Supreme Court premises since Tuesday morning (November 18). Officials said they will remain deployed throughout the day.

It was seen on the spot that since morning, special security teams of the army and BGB have been stationed at the entrance, along with police members on duty. There are also members of the intelligence agency in plain clothes. Everyone from pedestrians to lawyers and journalists are being allowed to enter the tribunal after verifying their identities.

Besides, law enforcement agencies are keeping a close watch inside and outside the Supreme Court. There is also a control system in place for the movement of the general public. A law enforcement official said that security has been strengthened keeping in mind the situation after the verdict is announced.

Earlier, the International Crimes Tribunal on Monday sentenced former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to death by hanging in a case of crimes against humanity. At the same time, former IGP Chowdhury Mamun, who was the witness, was given a five-year prison sentence. The verdict was announced by a three-member judicial panel led by Tribunal-1 Chairman Justice Md. Golam Mortuza Majumder. The other two members are Justice Md. Shafiul Alam Mahmud and retired District and Sessions Judge Md. Mohitul Haque Enam Chowdhury.

The prosecution submitted five charges in Sheikh Hasina’s case. But in the verdict, the tribunal brought six incidents in two charges. Out of these, three incidents were brought in charge-1. The first of these was the provocative statement made at a press conference at Ganabhaban on July 14, 2024, calling the protesters Razakars.

Secondly, in Sheikh Hasina’s conversation with Dhaka University Vice-Chancellor Maqsud Kamal that night, she incited and ordered the protesters to be hanged, calling them Razakars. In addition, the accused did not stop their subordinates from committing the crime. Thirdly, as a result of this, the police shot and killed Abu Sayeed in Rangpur. The tribunal sentenced Sheikh Hasina and Kamal to life imprisonment for these crimes.

The tribunal also brought three incidents in the second charge. Number one, a phone conversation between Sheikh Hasina, former mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation Fazle Noor Taposh and JSD president Hasanul Haque Inu on July 18, 2024, was found. In these conversations, Sheikh Hasina ordered to locate the protesters using drones and kill the students and the public using helicopters and lethal weapons. The accused did not prevent their subordinates from committing this crime.

As a result, on August 5 of the same year, the police shot and killed six protesters in Chankharpul. This is incident number two in this case. Incident number three was on the same day, on August 5, six people were killed in Ashulia, Savar, and their bodies were burned. Hasina and Kamal were sentenced to death for these crimes. The government was also ordered to confiscate all their assets. The government will distribute them among the victims in July. In addition, Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun was sentenced to five years in prison on both charges.