Sheikh Hasina. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

“A fresh case has been filed against Bangladesh’s ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and 58 others on the charges of attempting to murder a student during the violent clashes that led to the fall of her government last month,” a media report said on Sunday (September 15, 2024).

It was the latest in the slew of cases filed against the 76-year-old former premier, who resigned and fled to India on August 5 following a massive protest by students against a controversial quota system in government jobs.

Sheikh Hasina faces 33 cases, including murder, after ouster from Bangladesh

The case was filed on Friday by 22-year-old Fahim Faisal, who claimed he was shot and injured during an anti-government protest in Dinajpur on August 4, a day before the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government, The Daily Star newspaper reported.

“With this, the tally of cases against Ms. Hasina has reached 155, including 136 for murder, seven for crimes against humanity and genocide, three for abduction, eight for attempted murder and one for the attack on a Bangladesh Nationalist Party procession,” the report said.

According to the case statement, protesters were assaulted with firearms and local weapons, resulting in multiple injuries to Faisal, who was treated at Dinajpur Medical College Hospital and recovered partially.

A month since Sheikh Hasina was forced out, Dhaka’s new rulers ask for ‘patience’

The case accuses 59 people, including Ms. Hasina, former whip Iqbalur Rahim and Dinajpur Sadar Upazila Chairman Imdad Sarkar.

More than 230 people were killed in the incidents of violence that erupted across the country following the fall of the Hasina-led government, taking the death toll to more than 600 since the massive protest by students first started in mid-July.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre speaks during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, on August 12, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

The United States “had no involvement” in ousting Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the White House said on Monday, describing the claim as “simply false.”

Ms. Hasina, 76, quit as Prime Minister on August 5 after a student-led uprising against her government and fled by helicopter to longtime ally India.

Asked about allegations of U.S. interference, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said: “We have had no involvement at all.”

“Any reports or rumors that the United States government was involved in these events is simply false,” she told a press briefing.

“This is a choice for and by the Bangladeshi people. We believe that the Bangladeshi people should determine the future of the Bangladeshi government, and that’s where we stand.”

Ms. Hasina’s son and former government adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy had alleged that unidentified foreign forces supported the protests, a claim for which he provided no evidence.

“I believe, at this point, it is from beyond Bangladesh,” he said over the weekend.

“Only an intelligence agency would have the capability of smuggling and supplying weapons to protesters,” said the U.S.-based Wazed.

In May, Ms. Hasina had alleged that a “white-skinned” foreign country was conspiring against her government after it was refused permission to build an airbase.

“Next time, they said, no election will be held in the country,” she told a meeting of her then-ruling Awami League-led alliance, the Dhaka Tribune reported.

“We liberated this country through a war. I do not want to gain power by renting or giving certain parts of my country to anyone,” she was quoted as saying, claiming “the conspiracy is ongoing” without specifying which country was behind it.

The United States has generally had friendly relations with Bangladesh, with Hasina seen as a partner on a range of issues including shared concerns about Islamist extremism.

But Washington had been critical of what it saw as an undemocratic turn in Bangladesh and had previously restricted visas to Bangladeshis accused of undermining elections.

Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has been sworn in as head of an interim government following the ousting of the autocratic Hasina.