Nahid Islam, Convener of the National Citizens’ Party (NCP), has issued a strong demand for the swift execution of the death sentence handed down to the deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina by the International Criminal Tribunal. Speaking at a press conference on Monday afternoon at the NCP’s central office in Bangla Motor, Dhaka, Islam called for the verdict to be carried out within the next month.
The press conference was organised following the tribunal’s recent judgment against the former prime minister.
“The verdict of the International Criminal Tribunal must be executed promptly,” said Nahid Islam. “We demand that Sheikh Hasina be brought back to Bangladesh within the next one month and the execution of this sentence be carried out. Not only Sheikh Hasina, but we also demand the execution of the death sentence of former State Minister of Home Affairs Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal.”
Islam further demanded swift justice against all “fascists, their associates including the Awami League, Jubo League, and Chhatra League, and all government officials who stand accused.”
A Verdict for the Martyrs
Nahid Islam hailed the judgment as a landmark in the country’s judicial history and a precedent globally. He stated that the verdict delivered justice for the victims of oppression and massacres carried out over the last sixteen years under Sheikh Hasina’s leadership.
“Today, we have received the verdict for the oppression meted out to the thousands of martyrs and several thousand injured during the July Revolution. We have received justice for the zulm-nirjaton [oppression and torture], enforced disappearances, murders, human rights violations, the Pillkhana massacre, the Shapla tragedy, and the July genocide,” he asserted.
“We will only be satisfied on the day this verdict is executed. We will find peace only when we hear in our lifetime that Sheikh Hasina has been hanged and the sentence is carried out,” he added, insisting that the souls of the July Revolution martyrs and their families would find peace then.
Call for Repatriation from Delhi
The NCP convener urged the interim government to take “effective and appropriate steps” to ensure the immediate return of Sheikh Hasina from Delhi.
“We have heard that the government’s security advisor is currently visiting India. We demand and hope that he will return to Bangladesh accompanied by Sheikh Hasina,” Islam remarked.
Demand to Try Awami League as a Party
Nahid Islam argued that the trial should extend beyond individuals to the political entity responsible.
“We want to see the verdict and its execution not as a political party, but as the victims of July-August,” he said. “Today’s verdict has established Sheikh Hasina as an individual criminal. However, this ruling makes it clear that Sheikh Hasina, as an individual, a party leader, and the Prime Minister, was the planner and initiator of this genocide from the highest level of the state.”
Consequently, he demanded that the Awami League also be held accountable and tried as a party for crimes against humanity.
In response to a query, Nahid Islam expressed dissatisfaction with the five-year sentence given to the former Inspector General of Police (IGP), who had reportedly become a state witness. “Even as a state witness, the former IGP had a hand in this genocide. We believe his sentence should have been heavier,” he concluded.
