'Biased And Politically Motivated': Sheikh Hasina's 1st Reaction On Death Sentence For 'Crimes Against Humanity'

Dhaka: Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in her first reaction to death sentence by the country's International Crimes Tribunal, called the verdict "biased and politically motivated".

"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," Hasina said in a statement.

Slamming the Muhammad Yunus administration, Hasina he further added that the judgment revealed the brazen and murderous intent of extremist figures".

"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," she stated.

The Awami League leader denied all the allegations against her. She said that she was proud of her government’s record on human rights and development.

"We led Bangladesh to join the International Criminal Court in 2010, gave refuge to hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fleeing persecution in Myanmar, expanded access to electricity and education, and presided over a 450% GDP growth over 15 years, lifting millions out of poverty," she added.

Denying the charges, Hasina said, "For the record, I wholly deny the accusations that have been made against me in the ICT. I mourn all of the deaths that occurred in July and August of last year, on both sides of the political divide. But neither I nor other political leaders ordered the killing of protestors."

Earlier in the day, Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal ordered a death sentence for former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for "crimes against humanity" committed during the widespread protests against her government in July last year.

Hasina was tried in absentia. The historic judgement concluded that former Bangladesh PM and the two other accused, former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun and former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, had orchestrated and enabled atrocities during the July-August movement.

While pronouncing the verdict, the tribunal said the prosecution had proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Hasina was behind the deadly crackdown on student-led protests between July and August last year.