Hasina Denies Ordering Fire on Unarmed Civilians

Sheikh Hasina. File Photo

Ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina has insisted she never authorised the use of force against unarmed civilians during last year’s mass uprising, rejecting allegations linked to a deadly crackdown on protesters.

In a written interview, Hasina said she “categorically” denied issuing any order to fire on civilians. “I’m not denying that the situation got out of control, nor that many lives were lost needlessly. But I never issued any order to fire on unarmed civilians,” she stated.

Earlier this year, leaked audio of a phone call—verified by investigators—suggested she had approved the use of “lethal weapons” in July 2024. The recording was later presented in court during her trial.

Hasina, indicted in July alongside former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and former inspector general of police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, faces charges relating to hundreds of killings during the mass protests against her rule. Kamal is in hiding, while Al-Mamun pleaded guilty but awaits sentencing. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for both men and for Hasina.

Speaking from abroad in her first formal interview since fleeing the country on 5 August 2024, Hasina described her trial in absentia as a “farce” conducted by a “kangaroo court” controlled by political rivals. She argued that the proceedings were designed to deliver a “pre-ordained guilty verdict”.

Security measures have been intensified around the tribunal in Dhaka ahead of the upcoming verdict. The outcome is expected to be a defining moment for the nation and for families of those killed during the student-led protests that toppled her government.

International human rights investigators estimate that up to 1,400 people were killed when authorities used systematic and deadly force in an effort to suppress the protests. Hasina has refused to return from India to face the trial, maintaining she had no role in authorising such violence.

She asserted that she was denied the opportunity to defend herself or appoint her own legal team. According to her, the case is part of an attempt by political opponents to “liquidate” her party as a political force. Her lawyers have recently filed an urgent appeal to the United Nations raising concerns about fair trial standards and due process.

The interview also touched on wider allegations of abuses during her 15-year tenure. These include claims of crimes against humanity, which she denies. After her removal from power, discoveries of secret detention facilities revealed that some individuals had been held for years without legal process, with several critics allegedly killed unlawfully.

Hasina said she had “no knowledge” of these facilities and denied personal involvement in extra-judicial killings or disappearances. She reiterated that any allegations against state officials should be examined through an impartial and depoliticised process.

She and several senior figures from her former government also face corruption charges in a separate court, which they have described as politically motivated.