New York/Geneva, Nov 18: UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has expressed his opposition to the death penalty imposed on Sheikh Hasina by a Bangladesh court, according to his spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric.
“We stand against the use of the death penalty in all circumstances,” Guterres said on Monday during his daily briefing, referring to the sentence imposed in absentia on Hasina, who is currently in exile in India.
Dujarric cited UN Human Rights High Commissioner Volker Türk, noting that the Secretary General “fully agrees with” his opposition to the death penalty. He added that the verdict is “an important moment for victims of the grave violations committed during the suppression of protests last year in Bangladesh.”
The death sentence was handed down by a local court calling itself the “International Crimes Tribunal,” which convicted Hasina of “crimes against humanity.” Originally established to try Pakistanis and their Bangladeshi collaborators for atrocities during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, the tribunal was reportedly revived to try Hasina and others on charges related to last year’s student protests, which led to her fleeing the country.
Volker Türk’s spokesperson, Ravina Shamdasani, emphasized that while the verdict is significant for victims of past violations, the trial, conducted in absentia with the possibility of a death penalty, must “unquestionably meet international standards of due process and fair trial.”