Sheikh Hasina Case: Verdict A ‘Sham,’ Says Son Of Ousted Bangladesh PM | World News

Sajeeb Wazed, son of ousted Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has condemned the death sentence given to his mother as a “complete fraud” orchestrated by an “unelected and undemocratic regime”.

Speaking to WION’s Sidhant Sibal, based in the United States, Wazed said the hearing was rushed in less than 100 days after the laws were changed without parliamentary approval.

“My mother wasn’t even allowed to choose her own lawyer,” she said. “Our attorneys took him to court and he was defended by a public defender.”

Citing recent high-level visits by Pakistani officials, he accused the Yunus administration of collaborating with the Bangladeshi Community and turning Bangladesh into “an extension of Pakistan”. Wazed promised that protests and nationwide shutdowns would escalate and dismissed the upcoming elections after the ban of the Awami League, calling them “one-sided”.

Sidhant Sibal: What is your response to the verdict against former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina?

Sajeeb Wazed: The decision is fabricated. You have a completely unelected, undemocratic regime. They had to change the laws to expedite this case, where you cannot change the law without parliament. It is impossible to hold a hearing of this historic nature within 100 days. My mother wasn’t even allowed to choose her own lawyer. Our lawyers were barred from going to court at all and were defended by a public defender. So this was a mock trial. We knew what the decision would be. Everyone knew what the decision would be.

Sidhant Sibal: So what’s next? Do you plan to appeal?

Sajeeb Wazed: Currently, there is no rule of law in Bangladesh. This regime does everything completely legally and the courts approve everything. So there’s no point in trying to do anything right now. There is no legal avenue. But in the future, when the rule of law returns, it will all be canceled because everything in this case was done illegally.

Sidhant Sibal: A statement came from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh requesting India’s extradition. What do you think about this?

Sajeeb Wazed: My thought is simple. To comply with any agreement, the request must be legal. Again, an illegal regime, illegally changed laws and Damascus cases. Why would any country’s government comply with such an illegal request?

Sidhant Sibal: We also saw that there was a lot of interaction between the Yunus interim government and the Government of Pakistan. We also saw the visits of Pakistani military officials and political leaders. What do you make of this?

Sajeeb Wazed: Yunus regime is supported by Bangladesh Jamaat, Islamist and terrorist organizations that oppose the creation of Bangladesh; They have always been close to Pakistan. They never wanted to separate from Pakistan, and the Yunus regime is essentially making Bangladesh an extension of Pakistan.

Sidhant Sibal: What is your future course of action?

Sajeeb Wazed: We are planning to fight now. Although the protests were successful, the public reacted. We called for a lockdown and everyone stayed home for two or three days. The country is closed and we will escalate the tension. These elections are also a sham, because they banned our party, the largest and oldest party, and virtually banned almost all secular and progressive parties. So it will be a completely one-sided election and it will be a complete lie.