BBC interview: Hasina denies ordering crackdown on July protesters
Staff Reporter :
Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has denied issuing any order to crack down on protesters during the July–August 2024 mass uprising, telling the BBC that allegations of crimes against humanity against her are “politically motivated” and part of an effort to dismantle her party’s leadership.
In an email interview — her first major engagement with the international media since fleeing Bangladesh on 5 August 2024 — Hasina told the BBC that she “categorically rejects” claims that she directed security forces to use lethal weapons on unarmed demonstrators.
While acknowledging that the situation “got out of control” and that “many lives were lost needlessly,” she insisted she never instructed law enforcement agencies to open fire.
The former prime minister is currently being prosecuted by International Crimes Tribunal-1 (ICT) on charges of orchestrating a violent nationwide crackdown in late July that left more than 1,000 people dead. The tribunal is expected to hand down its verdict within days.
Hasina dismissed the ICT proceedings as a “farce” and a “kangaroo court,” claiming the verdict has already been “pre-ordained” and that she has been denied a fair chance to defend herself. According to the BBC, she alleged that the process is part of a broader political strategy to erase the Awami League from Bangladesh’s political landscape.
Responding to accusations of enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and the existence of secret detention sites during her tenure, Hasina told the BBC she had “no knowledge” of such facilities. Any such allegations, she said, should be evaluated through an “impartial, de-politicised process,” arguing that political rivals have weaponised these claims to frame her personally.
Hasina also characterised the July 2024 mass protests — which led to her dramatic resignation and flight from the country — as an “insurrection.” She reiterated her long-held position that her ouster was not the consequence of public outrage but the result of “coordinated political sabotage” by opponents determined to unseat her.
The interview, released as the ICT prepares to deliver its judgment, comes at a moment of heightened political tension. With the Awami League still barred from contesting the next national election, Hasina warned through the BBC that the country risks “mass voter boycotts” and deeper instability if her party continues to be excluded from the political process.
Her remarks are likely to further intensify debate inside Bangladesh over accountability for last year’s deadly crackdown and the future role of the Awami League in national politics, as the country awaits a landmark verdict that could reshape its political landscape.
