Former Bangladeshi Officials Face Court Over Crackdown on 2024 Revolution

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Thirteen former top Bangladeshi government officials, including 11 ministers, a judge, and an ex-government secretary, appeared in court on Monday facing charges of enabling massacres during the August 2024 revolution. The defendants are accused of command responsibility for a police crackdown that killed over 700 people during student-led protests, which ultimately led to the ouster of Sheikh Hasina's regime.

Prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam stated that the officials were complicit in planning and inciting violence, issuing shoot-on-sight orders, and obstructing efforts to prevent a genocide during the uprising. "We have produced 13 defendants today. They are complicit in enabling massacres," Islam told reporters.

Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India on August 5 and remains in exile, was also summoned to face charges of massacres, killings, and crimes against humanity. Prosecutors have reiterated demands for her extradition, although she did not appear in court.

The defendants were brought to the International Crimes Tribunal in Dhaka under heavy security. A large crowd had gathered outside the courthouse as the trial began. Prosecutors alleged the crackdown was part of a broader pattern of human rights abuses during Hasina’s 15-year tenure, which included mass detentions and extrajudicial killings of political opponents.

Currently, the charges against the 13 officials focus on the August police crackdown, but prosecutors requested more time to expand their investigation to cover additional abuses during Hasina's rule.

This marks a critical moment in Bangladesh’s post-revolution justice process, as the country seeks accountability for years of alleged state violence and suppression of dissent.