Hasina sentenced to 6-month in jail for contempt of court

The International Crimes Tribunal-1 (ICT) on wednesday (July 2) sentenced former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to six months in jail and Shakil Akand Bulbul, a leader of the banned Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), to two months in a contempt of court case.

The three-member tribunal, led by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder, delivered the verdict in response to contempt allegations related to a phone conversation concerning the July mass uprising case.

On April 30, the Chief Prosecutor filed a contempt petition against Sheikh Hasina and Shakil Akand Bulbul after a phone conversation went viral. The tribunal accepted the complaint the same day and directed the accused to respond by May 15. However, neither submitted a response, prompting the tribunal to summon them to appear on May 25.

An audio clip, purportedly of Sheikh Hasina, went viral in which she allegedly said: “227 cases have been filed against me, so I've obtained a license to kill 227 people.” A forensic analysis by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) later confirmed the clip’s authenticity.

Although the law does not mandate appointing a state defence lawyer in such cases, the tribunal assigned a counsel for Sheikh Hasina in the interest of justice.

According to the prosecution, despite a public notice published in newspapers, Sheikh Hasina neither appeared before the court nor responded through any legal representative. In such situations, the tribunal has the authority to impose punishment.

Under the tribunal’s provisions, if contempt of court is proven, the punishment may include up to one year in jail, a fine of up to Tk 5,000, or both.