"Judgement not based on facts": Lawyer of jailed ISKCON priest on Sheikh Hasina's death sentence

North 24 Parganas (West Bengal) [India], November 18 (ANI): Advocate Rabindranath Ghosh, lawyer of jailed ISKCON priest Chinmoy Krishna Das, stated that the judgment made by the tribunal is "not based on facts and circumstances of the case", a day after a court awarded a death sentence to former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for "crimes against humanity"
He noted that there should be a cross-examination between the accused's lawyer and the prosecution in cases involving the death penalty.
"... I know Sheikh Hasina very much. I know all the political leaders of the country. The judgment made by the tribunal is not based on the facts and circumstances of the case. My humble submission to the appellate court is to scrutinise the matter immediately... In the case of the death penalty, the accused's lawyer and the prosecution should cross-examine. Without any cross-examination, how is it possible?..."
"That has been done because they are the judge..."
Meanwhile, the Ministry of External Affairs on Monday said that India has taken note of the verdict announced by the "International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh" concerning former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and said that India remains committed to the best interests of the people of Bangladesh.
MEA underlined that India will always engage constructively with all stakeholders.
The statement said, "India has noted the verdict announced by the "International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh" concerning former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. As a close neighbour, India remains committed to the best interests of the people of Bangladesh, including in peace, democracy, inclusion and stability in that country. We will always engage constructively with all stakeholders to that end."
A Bangladesh court on Monday afternoon found ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina guilty of committing "crimes against humanity" during the July-August uprising in 2024.
Local media reported that the International Crimes Tribunal-1 has sentenced Hasina to death.
The tribunal found the former PM guilty on all five charges of crimes against humanity, the Dhaka Tribune reported.
The Awami league leader, who is currently in exile in India was tried in absentia. The 78-year-old leader had fled to New Dehi after the fall of her regime in Dhaka.
Hasina responded to the verdict made against her, calling the decision made by a rigged tribunal established and presided over by an unelected government with no democratic mandate.
In a statement of Hasina shared by the Bangladesh Awami league, responding to the verdict, she said, "The verdicts announced against me have been made by a rigged tribunal established and presided over by an unelected government with no democratic mandate. They are biased and politically motivated. In their distasteful call for the death penalty, they reveal the brazen and murderous intent of extremist figures within the interim government to remove Bangladesh's last elected prime minister, and to nullify the Awami League as a political force." (ANI)