‘Criminals Have Become Heroes’: Ahead Of ICT Verdict, Sheikh Hasina Says Yunus Framed False Charges

Last Updated:November 17, 2025, 09:26 IST

Hasina said Muhammad Yunus and those aligned with him had orchestrated a plan to “punish” her through a process that she claimed violated all legal norms.

Bangladesh's ex-prime minister Sheikh Hasina. (AFP)

With the Crimes Tribunal (ICT) set to deliver its verdict, Bangladesh’s deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina addressed her supporters virtually, denouncing the proceedings against her as “entirely illegal". 

She alleged that Interim Prime Minister Muhammad Yunus and those aligned with him had orchestrated a plan to “punish" her through a process that she claimed violated all legal norms. 

Speaking forcefully, she insisted the case registered against her was false and politically motivated. Hasina, along with former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, faces charges of murder, attempted murder, torture and other inhumane acts tied to the violent protests of 2024, which erupted over a controversial quota system in government jobs.

Bangladesh lockdown

Hasina urged her supporters to take to the streets and ensure a nationwide lockdown, saying that violence and intimidation “cannot silence" her. She accused Yunus’s supporters of killing civilians and burning people alive after last year’s unrest, describing the situation as an unprecedented assault on ordinary Bangladeshis. 

She added that under the Awami League’s leadership, laws had been strengthened to address atrocities, including crimes against women during the 1971 Liberation War. In contrast, she claimed, “criminals have become heroes of July" under the current interim administration.

Hasina also hinted she may seek a political return, though she emphasised that her future depended on Bangladesh’s political climate. Having fled to India on 5 August 2024 amid escalating violence, she said she would only re-enter politics if Bangladesh could hold “free, fair and participatory elections" in which all major parties, including the Awami League, were allowed to contest. 

Hasina argued that her removal from office was not due to political decline, but to a coordinated effort to destabilise her government. She accused violent elements of hijacking the student protest movement, citing “military-grade weapons in civilian hands" and “coordinated burning of state institutions". Remaining in Dhaka, she said, would have risked a “bloodbath".

What Hasina said on Yunus administration?

Hasina sharply criticised the Yunus-led interim government, calling it unelected, illegitimate and responsible for plunging the nation into instability. She warned that attacks on minorities, constitutional erosion and the release of individuals linked to extremist groups were symptoms of a regime lacking public mandate. Stability, she argued, could only return when Bangladesh reinstated the political rights of its citizens.

From India, Hasina criticised the interim government’s outreach to Pakistan, describing recent military-level engagements as a desperate attempt for international validation. She accused Yunus of seeking to “rewrite history" by courting Islamabad, despite Pakistan never apologising for the atrocities of 1971.

Meanwhile, authorities in Bangladesh enforced heavy security across Dhaka and other regions overnight, following sporadic arson attacks and crude bomb explosions. Tensions remain high as the nation awaits the tribunal’s ruling, a decision that could reshape Bangladesh’s political landscape once again.

News world ‘Criminals Have Become Heroes’: Ahead Of ICT Verdict, Sheikh Hasina Says Yunus Framed False Charges

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