DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Classes and transportation in Bangladesh were seriously disrupted Thursday as ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her former ruling Awami League party called for a nationwide “lockdown” in protest against her trial over last year’s protests that left hundreds dead.
A special tribunal in Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka, was due to announce a date for the verdict against Hasina, who is facing charges of crimes against humanity involving a crackdown on the student-led uprising that ended her 15-year rule. She has been in exile in India since.
Schools in Dhaka and major cities across Bangladesh switched to online classes and examinations while public transportation was severely disrupted Thursday as the interim government heightened security across the country.
The development has sparked tension in the South Asian nation with the now-banned Awami League party urging its supporters and others to protest while the government and opposition to Hasina vowed to stop them.
Explosions of crude bombs and the torching of vehicles have been reported over the last three days in Dhaka and elsewhere, indicating that political chaos will continue in the country, which has a history of political violence.
On Wednesday evening, arson was reported on a train and a bus in Dhaka, and crude bombs went off earlier in the day on the Dhaka University campus.
Bangladesh’s interim leader, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, will address the nation on Thursday afternoon, his press office said. Yunus took over as the head of an interim government three days after Hasina’s fall on Aug. 5 last year, and vowed to punish her.
On Thursday morning, soldiers along with other security agencies were deployed to guard the premises of the special tribunal, which is due to announce the day of the verdict in a case that also involves former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan and former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun. Al-Mamun is an “approver” in the case, which means he pleaded guilty and became a state witness against Hasina.
Al-Mamun was brought to the tribunal amid tight security Thursday while Khan is also believed to be in India. Both Hasina and Khan are being tried in absentia.
Hasina was ousted on Aug. 5 last year after weeks of violence that left hundreds dead. The interim government pledged that parliamentary elections would be held in February, but Hasina’s Awami League has launched a campaign against the election, mainly on social media, if they are not allowed to participate.
The party has called the tribunal, which is handling the charges against Hasina, a “kangaroo court.” Hasina has not appointed a lawyer and denounced the appointment of a lawyer by the state to represent her.
Last month, the tribunal’s chief prosecutor, Tajul Islam, sought the death penalty for Hasina. In his arguments, Islam called her the “mastermind and principal architect” behind the crimes against humanity committed during the uprising.
The United Nations in a February report said up to 1,400 people may have been killed in the violence, while the country’s health adviser under the interim government said more than 800 people were killed and about 14,000 were injured.
Hasina disputed the figures and demanded an independent investigation.
In another development, Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday summoned Indian Deputy High Commissioner in Dhaka Pawan Badhe to formally convey its concerns over India allowing “fugitive” Hasina to interact with mainstream Indian media.
Many Indian outlets published interviews with Hasina in recent weeks that apparently irked Bangladesh’s current government.
Hasina in her interviews accused Yunus of backing Islamists and violating human and political rights, especially of her supporters. The Yunus-led administration has banned all activities of Hasina’s party. In her interviews, Hasina vowed to fight back, with her son in an interview with the Associated Press saying that only an inclusive election could stabilize the country.
