Former Prime Minister(PM) of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, has been accused of ordering her security forces to use lethal force on student protesters in 2024, according to secret phone call recordings obtained by Al Jazeera. The recordings, analyzed by audio forensic experts, reveal Hasina instructing her forces to “use lethal weapons, shoot wherever they find them”. This directive was given amid weeks of bloody protests and brutal action by government forces that resulted in nearly 1,400 deaths and over 20,000 injuries.
In one call with Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh, the mayor of Dhaka South and a relative of Hasina, the former PM discusses using helicopters to control demonstrations. “Wherever they notice any gathering, it’s from above – now it’s being done from above – it has already started in several places,” she said. However, Bangladeshi security forces had denied firing on protesters from the air. Dr. Shabir Sharif, an accident and emergency doctor at the Popular Medical College Hospital in Dhaka, contradicts this denial, stating that shots were fired from a helicopter targeting the hospital entrance. Sharif also reported treating student protesters with unusual bullet wounds, saying, “The bullets entered either the shoulder or the chest, and they all remained inside the body.”
Investigation and Trial
The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) has charged Hasina, her ministers, and security officials with crimes against humanity. The ICT’s chief prosecutor, Tajul Islam, stated that Hasina knew she was being recorded and said, “She has dug a very deep ditch for others. Now she’s in the ditch.” Hasina and two other officials were indicted on July 10, and their trial is scheduled to begin in August.
In a related development, Hasina was sentenced to six months in prison by the ICT for contempt of court. The tribunal also sentenced Shakil Akand Bulbul to two months in prison in the same case.
Reactions and Aftermath
An Awami League spokesperson responded to the allegations, claiming that the recording of Hasina’s phone call was “either cherry-picked, doctored, or both” and that government efforts to investigate the death of protester Abu Sayed were genuine. However, Dr. Rajibul Islam from Rangpur Medical College Hospital stated that police forced him to change Sayed’s postmortem report five times to remove references to multiple bullet wounds.