London, Dec 10 (IANS) International human rights lawyers have condemned the recent verdicts delivered by Bangladesh courts against the country's former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, senior Awami League leader, and members of her family, arguing that the ruling failed to meet accepted legal norms and reflects democratic regression.
They warn that the justice system risks being used as a tool of “political contestation”.
Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) on November 17 pronounced a death sentence for Hasina after it found her guilty on the charges of crimes against humanity related to the demonstrations in July of last year.
It also convicted two of Hasina's top aides, sentencing former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to death and former Inspector General of Police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, who turned state witness, to five years' imprisonment.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the UK-based International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) said that imposing the death penalty following a trial that did not meet international fair trial standards “would effectively amount to summary execution and a clear violation to the right to life”.
“While efforts to pursue justice for human rights violations are essential, including in relation to serious crimes committed under the former administration, the IBAHRI stresses that all proceedings must uphold international fair trial guarantees and condemns the use of the death penalty in all circumstances,” IBAHRI stated.
It added that the recent trials, “appear to fall short of recognised legal standards, signal democratic backsliding and highlight a justice system at risk of being used as an instrument of political contestation”.
The IBAHRI noted that an international legal team acting for Hassina has “highlighted issues with due process, including the lack of formal notification of the charges, denial of representation by counsel of her choosing and reliance on a state-appointed lawyer with whom she has had no communication”.
Separately, on December 1, a Dhaka court sentenced Hasina to five years in prison over irregularities in the allocation of plots under the Purbachal New Town project.
Additionally, Hasina’s sister, Sheikh Rehana, was handed a seven-year sentence, while her niece, UK MP Tulip Siddiq, received two years' imprisonment.
Condemning the verdict, IBAHRI co-chair Mark Stephens said, “Reports of harassment and intimidation of defence lawyers in the representation of their clients, as in Tulip Siddiq’s case, strike at the heart of the right to a fair trial and undermine the rule of law in Bangladesh. Such practices represent a serious misuse of state authority.”
He stressed that the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government “must ensure that legal professionals can work safely and independently, and must ensure a genuine commitment to justice, not political retaliation.”
The institute also called on the interim government of Bangladesh to halt all executions, introduce a formal moratorium on the use of the death penalty and commit to its full and permanent abolition.
--IANS
scor/rs