'I am in pain': Defence lawyer reacts to Hasina's death sentence
Awami League calls verdict "kangaroo court"; Hasina's lawyer maintains fairness
Sheikh Hasina's state-appointed defence counsel, Advocate Amir Hossain, has said he is "deeply pained" by the death sentences handed to former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal in the July–August crimes against humanity case, expressing frustration that he cannot appeal unless the absconding defendants surrender or are arrested.
Speaking to journalists this afternoon (17 November) after the International Crimes Tribunal announced its judgment, Hossain said the outcome "could have been different". "My clients [Hasina and Kamal] could have received a different judgment. But that did not happen. The verdict has gone against me. For this, I am in pain," he said. "I have no opportunity to appeal in this case, none at all, unless they surrender or are detained. Until then, I cannot move forward."
Earlier in the day, the International Crimes Tribunal sentenced Hasina, now 78 and in exile in India, to death for crimes against humanity committed during last year's violent crackdown on student-led mass protests.
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The tribunal found her the "mastermind and principal architect" of the suppression that left around 1,400 people dead and 25,000 injured, culminating in the collapse of her 15-year rule.
Hasina, Kamal, and former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun were charged with incitement, provocation, and command responsibility. While Hasina and Kamal remain fugitives, Mamun testified as a state witness.
The verdict was delivered by the three-member ICT-1 bench led by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Majumdar, amid a heavy security cordon enforced by police, RAB, BGB, and army personnel since last night.
Hossain, who earlier in the morning expressed heartfelt hope for his client's acquittal, maintained after the ruling that he found "nothing wrong" in the trial process. "I believe the trial was conducted properly," he said. He also noted he had no communication with either Hasina or Kamal. "There is no legal provision for me to contact them, and they did not attempt to contact me," he said.
The banned Awami League rejected the judgment as a "kangaroo court verdict" and urged supporters to protest, raising fears of renewed unrest.
