Toppled Hasina’s son warns Bangladesh court will sentence her to death

The lad of toppled Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has warned that a peculiar tribunal volition apt condemnation her to death, but that she remains harmless successful her Indian exile, arsenic helium threatened her supporters volition artifact adjacent year’s predetermination unless a prohibition connected her enactment is lifted.

Sajeeb Wazed made the comments to the Reuters quality bureau connected Sunday, a time earlier the Dhaka tribunal was owed to present a televised verdict against Hasina connected charges of crimes against humanity for carrying retired a deadly crackdown connected protesters successful 2024.

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The threats are apt to further stoke tensions successful Bangladesh, wherever a question of bombings and arson attacks has gripped the superior up of the ruling and February’s planned election.

“We cognize precisely what the verdict is going to be. They’re televising it. They’re going to convict her, and they’ll astir apt condemnation her to death,” said Wazed, successful the United States capital, Washington, DC.

“What tin they bash to my mother? My parent is harmless successful India. India is giving her afloat security.”

Hasina, 78, has lived successful exile successful New Delhi since fleeing Bangladesh successful August 2024, erstwhile the student-led protests forced an extremity to her 15 years successful power.

A United Nations study estimated that up to 1,400 radical were killed during the demonstrations that year, astir by information forces firing unrecorded ammunition.

The erstwhile person faces proceedings astatine Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal implicit the deadly crackdown. She denies wrongdoing and calls the proceedings politically motivated.

‘We volition not let elections’

Wazed told Reuters that supporters of the Awami League – the nominally centre-left, secular enactment that has dominated Bangladeshi authorities since independency – would forestall elections from going up if the enactment remains banned.

“We volition not let elections without the Awami League to spell ahead,” helium said. “Our protests are going to get stronger and stronger, and we volition bash immoderate it takes.”

He added that “unless the planetary assemblage does something, yet there’s astir apt going to beryllium unit successful Bangladesh earlier these elections”.

The interim government, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, suspended the party’s registration successful May and banned its governmental activities, citing nationalist information threats and warfare crimes investigations into elder leaders.

A authorities spokesperson rejected Wazed’s warnings.

“The interim authorities regards immoderate incitement to unit – particularly by exiled governmental figures – arsenic profoundly irresponsible and reprehensible,” the spokesperson was quoted by Reuters arsenic saying.

In an earlier interrogation with The Associated Press quality agency, Wazed said the “ban has to beryllium lifted, the elections person to beryllium inclusive and escaped and fair. What is happening present truly is an effort to support my parent and our governmental leaders from moving successful elections”.

Escalating violence

Violence has intensified successful Dhaka successful caller days.

On Sunday, crude bombs exploded crossed the city, pursuing 32 blasts reported connected November 12 alone. Dozens of buses person been torched, and authorities person detained Awami League activists implicit alleged sabotage.

Schools successful the superior Dhaka and different large cities went online past week.

Bangladesh has deployed much than 400 borderline guards to reenforce security, strengthened checkpoints and restricted nationalist gatherings.

Hasina remains “a lightning rod successful Bangladeshi politics”, Michael Kugelman, a South Asia analyst, told Al Jazeera.

“She tin present an online code successful India and trigger a convulsive reaction, arsenic happened earlier this year,” helium said.

“With Sheikh Hasina’s lad threatening to artifact the election, it makes astir overt the party’s volition to usage unit successful the discourse of the upcoming election,” Kugelman added.

The unit occurs against a backdrop of broader concerns astir the Yunus government’s record.

A study by Bangladeshi rights radical Odhikar documented astatine slightest 40 extrajudicial killings betwixt August 2024 and September 2025, contempt promises to extremity authorities violence.

The aforesaid information forces accused of abuses nether Hasina – including the paramilitary Rapid Action Battalion – stay operational.

Yunus has pledged to clasp elections successful February 2026, with a referendum connected law reforms connected the aforesaid day.