Politics
Bangladesh Protester Shot in Face Gives Evidence at Ex-PM Trial
DHAKA: The first witness in the trial of Bangladesh’s fugitive former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina testified on Sunday — a man who was shot in the face during last year’s protests that led to her ouster.
Hasina, 77, who has defied court orders to return from India to attend her trial on charges amounting to crimes against humanity, is accused of ordering a deadly crackdown in a failed bid to crush the student-led uprising.
Up to 1,400 people were killed between July and August 2024, according to the United Nations.
The first witness, among the 11 cases that the prosecution is expected to present to the court, was Khokon Chandra Barman, whose story reflects the violence of the protests.
The 23-year-old wears a mask to conceal his face, which was ripped apart by gunshot during the culmination of the protests on August 5, 2024, the same day that Hasina fled Dhaka by helicopter.
“I want justice for the ordeal I’ve been going through, and for my fellow protesters who sacrificed their lives,” he told the court.
Barman lost his left eye, while his right eye was damaged, as well as his lips, nose and teeth.
A video showing Barman’s blood-covered face was played in court, with the opening statements aired on the state-run broadcaster.
Prosecutors have filed five charges against Hasina, including failure to prevent mass murder, which amount to crimes against humanity under Bangladeshi law.
“Sheikh Hasina was the nucleus around whom all the crimes committed during the July-August uprising revolved,” chief prosecutor Tajul Islam told the court on Sunday.
Hasina is on trial in absentia alongside two other accused.
One, her former interior minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, is also a fugitive.
The other, Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, the former inspector general of police, is in custody. He has pleaded guilty.
Attorney General Md Asaduzzaman said he wanted a “fair trial”, speaking to reporters outside the court.
“People were killed and maimed, we demand the highest punishment for the crimes committed,” Asaduzzaman said.
Amir Hossain, the state-appointed lawyer for Hasina, noted that Barman was shot during the chaotic final day of the weeks-long protests.
He pointed out that several police officers were also killed in clashes with protesters and it was “unclear who actually shot Barman”.
Hossain said he was not in contact with Hasina, who has refused to accept the authority of the court.
The trial continues.
A number of Iranian senior leaders, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have embraced martyrdom in the “unprovoked and unwarranted” airstrikes by Israel and the United States.
As crowds gathered in Tehran, explosions rang out, and the Israeli military announced that it was again striking targets in the heart of the city — as more blasts were heard in Jerusalem, Riyadh, Dubai, Doha and Manama.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian declared Khamenei’s assassination a “declaration of war against Muslims” and warned: “Iran considers it its legitimate duty and right to avenge the perpetrators and masterminds of this historic crime.”
Iranian state media have confirmed the killing of several senior figures:
1. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, supreme leader of Iran
2. Ali Shamkhani, representative of the Supreme Leader in the Supreme Defence Council
3. General Abdolrahim Mousavi, Iran’s Armed Forces chief of staff
4. Major General Mohammad Pakpour, commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC)
5. Aziz Nasirzadeh, Minister of Defence
6. Gholamreza Rezaian, police intelligence chief of Iran
Separately, the daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter of Ali Khamenei also embraced martyrdom in the US and Israeli airstrikes.
Iran’s permanent ambassador to the United Nations has vehemently denounced the fresh and unprovoked Israeli-American war on the Islamic Republic, asserting that the country will continue to act in self-defense until the end of the unlawful aggression.
Amir-Saeid Iravani made the remarks at a UN Security Council meeting on Sunday regarding the joint strikes that were launched against the country earlier on Saturday.
The nation, he stated, was facing armed aggression and a war against international law, which could not be justified by any excuse.
Referring to Iran’s decisive and ongoing retaliatory strikes, under the codename Operation True Promise 4, the envoy said it serves as a legitimate act of self-defense.
The Islamic Republic would continue to exercise its legitimate right to self-defense until the aggression ends, Iravani told the world body.
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has so far launched at least five waves of counterstrikes against numerous Israeli and American targets in response to the aggression.
IRGC has pledged to sustain the counterstrikes until the enemies’ “complete defeat,” while noting that the reprisal exceeds by far the proportions of its previous round of retaliations against Tel Aviv’s and Washington’s imposed war on the nation last June.
Addressing the same meeting, Russia’s UN envoy said Iran had been once again “stabbed in the back,” referring to the country’s coming under fresh aggression, while engaging in indirect talks with the United States aimed at resolving standing issues.
Vasily Nebenzya condemned an attack on a school in Iran that took place as part of the renewed aggression, claiming the lives of more than 100 people, calling it a sign of “unjustified aggression” by the Israeli regime and the United States against a UN member state.
He described the atrocities as “unjustifiable” and a “betrayal of diplomacy.”
- PM Modi describes accident as “deeply distressing”.
- Maharashtra CM terms it “extremely unfortunate.”
- Industrial accidents are common in India.
A blast at an explosives factory killed at least 17 people and injured 18 others on Sunday, officials in the western Indian state of Maharashtra said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the accident was “deeply distressing” and wished a speedy recovery to the survivors.
Maharashtra state chief minister Devendra Fadnavis called the incident “extremely unfortunate and tragic” in a post on X.
The accident happened in Nagpur, about 800 kilometres (500 miles) from state capital Mumbai.
“Rescue operations have been accelerated, and so far, 17 people have lost their lives,” Fadnavis said, adding 18 others were injured.
An investigation has been ordered into the incident.
On Saturday, 21 people were killed in an explosion at a firecracker factory in the southeastern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
Industrial accidents are common in India, often due to disregard for safety requirements and lax enforcement.
Last year, a firework factory explosion in western India killed 21 people.
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