Read The Diplomat, Know The Asia-Pacific
As Bangladesh’s tribunal for 1971 atrocities is being used to prosecute journalists, the line between accountability and revenge is being tested.
An estimated 1,400 people died in the July uprising of 2024, which led to Sheikh Hasina’s ouster on August 5, 2024. To contribute to accountability, reconciliation, and a sense of justice for the Bangladeshi people, the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) was revived.
Created in 2010 based on the 1973 ICT act, the tribunal was designed to prosecute atrocities committed during the 1971 Liberation War. It was heavily criticized – especially in 2011-2012 but throughout her tenure – for being used by Hasina to put opposition figures on trial for 1971-era crimes. The ICT was seen as politically instrumentalized and lacking due process.
This year, three journalists and a secular writer were arrested and accused before the ICT of crimes against humanity through incitement in connection with their reporting. They have been imprisoned for almost two years now on a wave of murder charges in the regular courts. Human rights organizations have condemned the murder charges and have raised concerns that the tribunal may now be used against figures associated with the former governing order, including journalists.
