Ahead of Monday's ruling by a special tribunal against former prime minister Sheikh Hasina in a case of suspected crimes against humanity, Bangladesh enforced increased security around Dhaka and other areas during the night amid intermittent arson and crude bomb assaults.
Following allegations that Hasina's now dissolved Awami League had declared a two day closure before to the International Crimes Tribunal Bangladesh (ICT-BD) judgment, authorities ordered a stringent military, paramilitary, and police vigil.
On Sunday night, unidentified individuals detonated two crude bombs outside the home of an advisory council member of interim government chief Professor Muhammad Yunus, set fire to the vehicle dumping corner of a police station complex, and caused explosions at multiple intersections in the capital.
As tensions increased, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) ordered its officers to shoot violent demonstrators on sight. Hasina, 78, has been charged with capital murder by ICT-BD prosecutors.
"I said over the wireless that anyone who throws crude explosives or sets a bus on fire with the intention of killing should be shot. Our law expressly grants this authority," Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner SM Sazzat Ali stated late on Sunday.
Since November 10, Dhaka has seen a number of typically predawn covert attacks, including rudimentary bomb explosions near the gate to the Grameen Bank headquarters in Mirpur, which was founded by Yunus.
According to officials, a number of the bank's branches were also the subject of coordinated arson and petrol bomb attacks. Over the previous week, unidentified attackers have also set fire to other stopped buses, murdering a driver who was dozing off inside one of them.
Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, Hasina's former home minister, and Hasina, who is currently in India, were tried in absentia. Former police head Abdullah Al Mamun, the third accused, appeared in person for the trial and changed his status to "approver" in an apparent attempt to obtain leniency.
"We have tried to get Hasina the harshest punishment imaginable. ICT-BD prosecutor Gazi MH Tamim stated on Sunday, "We also requested the seizure of the convicts' property for distribution among the families of martyrs and injured victims of last year's violent street protests."
He claimed that until Hasina surrenders or is taken into custody within 30 days of the ruling, ICT-BD's statute prevents her from filing an appeal in the Supreme Court's Appellate Division.
The verdict will be shown live on state run BTV, according to the prosecution, and it will be shown on big screens in several Dhaka locales. Subject to the tribunal's final permission, only specific parts of the ruling would be broadcast. Additionally, ICT-BD's official Facebook page will stream the ruling.
Rejecting the accusations, Hasina told party members not to worry in an audio message posted on the Awami League's Facebook site overnight, stating, "We have seen enough of these attacks and cases, this is just a matter of time."
Retired lieutenant general Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, the interim government's home affairs adviser, stated that "whatever it is, will be executed" in response to the decision. To avoid any crisis involving law and order, security has been strengthened across.
Hasina, her senior coworkers, and a number of Awami League executives are charged with a variety of offenses, including murder, corruption, and power abuse. The conviction on Monday relates to five counts of alleged crimes against humanity connected to the July Uprising of last year.
These include specific killings in Rangpur and Dhaka, orders to use deadly weapons, helicopters, and drones, torture, and the use of lethal force against unarmed student protestors.
The ousted premier has refuted all accusations and accused Professor Yunus, the interim head of government, of planning her removal through a "meticulous design." He was called a "usurper" by her.
"I don't care whether they try me... "My mouth won't be gouged by the verdict," she declared. "If someone makes a false complaint in court, he is tried under law, and one day it will happen," Hasina added, describing the accusations as "entirely false."
"If someone removes the elected representatives from power by force, they will be punished," she stated, citing Article 7(B) of the Bangladeshi Constitution. Yunus completed the task.
