UN Opposes Death Penalty for Ousted Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina in Absentia
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has opposed the death penalty imposed on ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in absentia by the country’s court. During his daily media briefing, UN Chief’s Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said, the United Nations stand against the use of the death penalty in all circumstances.
The 78-year old politician was tried in her absence by country’s International Crimes Tribunal in Dhaka for alleged crimes against humanity over the violent crackdown during student-led protests last year. She is currently living in exile. Alongside Ms Hasina, Bangladesh’s former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal also sentenced to death in absentia in the case yesterday while former Inspector General of Police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, who turned state witness, was sentenced to five years of imprisonment.
The Spokesperson citing a statement by UN Human Rights High Commissioner Volker Turk said, the death penalty was handed down by a local court comprised of solely of Bangladeshi judges that styled itself the International Crimes Tribunal, which convicted her of crimes against humanity.
Mr. Turk’s Spokesperson, Ravina Shamdasani, in a statement issued in Geneva, said, they were not privy to the conduct of this trial and such proceedings should unquestionably meet international standards of due process and fair trial when it is conducted in absentia with the possibility of death penalty. The charges stem from last year’s student-led protests in July and August, during which Bangladesh prosecutors allege the then Awami League government violently suppressed protesters.
