"Verdict is part of political vendetta...": Former Indian envoy to Bangladesh reacts to verdict on Sheikh Hasina

Bern [Switzerland], November 18 (ANI): Former Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty, reacted to the verdict against the former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and said it is part of the "political vendetta". Sheikh Hasina has been sentenced to death for "crimes against humanity".

Chakravarty told ANI, "I think the verdict is part of the political vendetta that has been organised and has been going on against Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League. So it is a continuation of that process. The judiciary has been weaponised there with former judges and many judges have been removed, and the interim government has put in their own people there. Nobody is surprised by this verdict. I think it means that now the Awami League has to decide whether they will carry on the struggle or they keep quiet, which I doubt very much. I think the struggle will go on and the verdict will not be accepted by the Awami League."

The former envoy termed the verdict as "fixed" and asked, "How free and fair the trial was, everybody's asking the same question"

He further added, "I think it was all fixed because the judiciary itself was overhauled and all the Supreme Court judges were in fact asked to resign at gunpoint almost. I think a new judiciary was created under the same old ICT, but the judges were changed, everybody was changed, then this whole trial took place. How free and fair the trial was, everybody's asking the same question. After all, who defended her and what were the charges? She's being accused and convicted of murdering somebody somewhere. She's the prime minister. She didn't go and murder anybody. But they are blaming her for having ordered that to the police and others..."

Meanwhile, the Ministry of External Affairs on Monday said that India has taken note of the verdict announced by the "International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh" concerning former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and said that India remains committed to the best interests of the people of Bangladesh.

MEA underlined that India will always engage constructively with all stakeholders.

The statement said, "India has noted the verdict announced by the "International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh" concerning former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. As a close neighbour, India remains committed to the best interests of the people of Bangladesh, including in peace, democracy, inclusion and stability in that country. We will always engage constructively with all stakeholders to that end."

A Bangladesh court on Monday afternoon found ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina guilty of committing "crimes against humanity" during the July-August uprising in 2024.

Local media reported that the International Crimes Tribunal-1 has sentenced Hasina to death.

The tribunal found the former PM guilty on all five charges of crimes against humanity, the Dhaka Tribune reported.

The Awami league leader, who is currently in exile in India was tried in absentia. The 78-year-old leader had fled to New Dehi after the fall of her regime in Dhaka.

Hasina responded to the verdict made against her, calling the decision made by a rigged tribunal established and presided over by an unelected government with no democratic mandate.

In a statement of Hasina shared by the Bangladesh Awami league, responding to the verdict, she said, "The verdicts announced against me have been made by a rigged tribunal established and presided over by an unelected government with no democratic mandate. They are biased and politically motivated. In their distasteful call for the death penalty, they reveal the brazen and murderous intent of extremist figures within the interim government to remove Bangladesh's last elected prime minister, and to nullify the Awami League as a political force." (ANI)

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