ICT appeals seek death for Hasina, Kamal over life imprisonment

The prosecution of the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) has appealed against the life- imprisonment sentences handed down to ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal in a case involving crimes against humanity committed during the July-August 2024 mass uprising.
The appeal filed on Monday, on eight grounds, with the Supreme Court's Appellate Division sought the death penalty for both the accused, said prosecutor Gazi M H Tamim.
In a press briefing on the tribunal premises, Mr Tamim said, "The International Crimes Tribunal-1 (ICT-1) on November 17 sentenced Sheikh Hasina and Asaduzzaman Khan in a crimes against humanity case. The tribunal gave them death in one charge and imprisonment until death in another charge. We have filed an appeal with the SC's Appellate Division to enhance their sentence to death in the charge for which they were given imprisonment for life."
The prosecution said, "The International Crimes (Tribunal) Act, 1973, first prescribes death penalty as a form of punishment and then refers to the gravity of the offence. As the law provides a specific range of punishments, all charges brought under the Act are legally eligible for the death penalty. The crimes committed during the July-August mass uprising constitute grave violations of fundamental human rights. Given the heinous nature of these offences, the prosecution contends that the only appropriate punishment is the death penalty."
It also added that the scale and severity of the attacks carried out on the unarmed protesters were such serious, that imposing sentence other than death penalty was not lawfully correct.
Following a crimes against humanity case, the International Crimes Tribunal-1 in Dhaka on November 17 handed down death sentences to Sheikh Hasina for committing crimes against humanity during the mass uprising held in July and August last year.
It also awarded death penalty to former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and five years' imprisonment to former inspector general of police (IGP) Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun for committing same offences.
Hasina and Kamal were also sentenced to imprisonment until their natural death on a charge.
A three-member bench of the tribunal headed by its Chairman Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder delivered the verdict in a case filed on charge of committing crimes against humanity during the July-August 2024 mass uprising.

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