DHAKA: Bangladeshi judges will issue the hugely anticipated verdict in the crimes against humanity trial of fugitive former prime minister Sheikh Hasina on November 17, the chief prosecutor said Thursday.
Hasina, 78, has defied court orders to return from India to attend her trial on charges of ordering a deadly crackdown in a failed attempt to suppress a student-led uprising that saw her removal.
“Justice will be served according to the law,” chief prosecutor Tajul Islam told reporters.
“We have completed a long journey and are now in its final phase. The court will pronounce the verdict on the 17th.”
Hasina’s trial in absentia, which began on June 1, heard months of testimony alleging she ordered mass killings.
According to the United Nations, up to 1,400 people were killed between July and August 2024 in her failed bid to hold on to power.
Prosecutors have filed five charges, including failure to prevent murder, amounting to crimes against humanity under Bangladeshi law. They have sought the death penalty if she is found guilty.
“We hope the court will exercise its prudence and wisdom, that the thirst for justice will be fulfilled, and that this verdict will mark an end to crimes against humanity,” Islam added.
Hasina has denied all the charges and called her trial a “jurisprudential joke.”
Her co-accused include former interior minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal — also a fugitive — and former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, who is in custody and has pleaded guilty.
Tensions are high as parties gear up for elections slated for February.
Hasina’s outlawed Awami League had called for a nationwide “lockdown” on Thursday, and there was a heavy deployment of security forces around the court, with armored vehicles manning checkpoints.
A string of crude bombs have been set off across Dhaka this month, mainly petrol bombs hurled at everything from buildings linked to the government of interim leader Muhammad Yunus to buses and Christian sites.
One man was burned to death on November 11 when his parked bus was set on fire.
Bangladesh’s foreign ministry on Wednesday summoned India’s envoy to Dhaka, demanding that New Delhi block Hasina from talking to journalists.
“Harboring such a notorious fugitive... and granting her a platform to spew hatred... are unhelpful to fostering a constructive bilateral relationship between the two countries,” the foreign ministry said, according to Bangladesh’s state-run BSS news agency.
Bangladesh verdict in ex-PM Hasina trial on November 17
https://arab.news/m9mb8
Bangladesh verdict in ex-PM Hasina trial on November 17
- Hasina’s trial in absentia, which began on June 1, heard months of testimony alleging she ordered mass killings
8 in 10 British Muslims face ‘financial faith penalty’ when seeking home finance, survey finds
- Restricted choices plague potential buyers
LONDON: Eight in 10 British Muslims say their home finance choices are restricted because of their faith, according to a new national survey that highlighted what researchers describe as a growing “financial faith penalty” in the UK housing market.
The report, published by Islamic home finance fintech firm Offa, found that 80 percent of Muslim respondents believe their religious beliefs limit their access to suitable home finance, while those who do use Islamic products often face slower decisions, heavier paperwork and poorer customer experiences than in the conventional mortgage market.
Based on surveys of 1,000 British Muslims conducted by Muslim Census, and 2,000 non-Muslims carried out by OnePoll, the research calls on providers, brokers and policymakers to modernize Islamic home finance and improve access to Sharia-compliant products.
Among the 24.3 percent of British Muslims who have used Islamic home finance, just 5 percent said they had received a same-day decision.
Some 62 percent waited up to two weeks, while 33 percent waited more than 15 days, including 16 percent who waited over a month.
Long decision times were cited as the biggest challenge by 28 percent of respondents, followed by excessive paperwork (22.6 percent) and poor customer service (18.9 percent).
Islamic home finance differs from conventional mortgages by avoiding interest and steering investment away from sectors considered harmful to society, including gambling, alcohol, tobacco, arms trading and animal testing.
Sagheer Malik, chief commercial officer and managing director of home finance at Offa, said the findings showed British Muslims were being underserved by outdated systems.
Malik said: “Property is the asset class of choice for many of the UK’s 3.87 million Muslims, both as a route to generational wealth and as a long-term financial foundation, yet our insightful research report reveals that British Muslims are being underserved and deterred by slow, outdated and opaque Islamic home finance provision.
“This is not a niche concern. It goes to the heart of financial fairness and inclusion in modern Britain.”
He added that Muslims deserved Sharia-compliant products that matched mainstream standards on “price, speed and simplicity.”
Despite strong demand, uptake remains low.
Only 12.8 percent of British Muslims surveyed said they currently use Islamic home finance, with a further 11.5 percent having done so in the past. More than three quarters (75.7 percent) have never used it.
Faith plays a central role in financial decisions, with 94.2 percent saying it is important that their financial products align with their ethical or religious beliefs. Yet more than half of those using conventional mortgages said they felt unhappy or uneasy about doing so because of their faith.
The study also found that British Muslims share similar home ownership aspirations to the wider population, with 79.1 percent citing the desire to provide a stable home for their family, while 18.6 percent said building generational wealth was their main motivation. Only 2.2 percent said they did not want to own a home.
The report suggests Islamic finance could appeal beyond Muslim communities. While 64 percent of non-Muslim respondents had never heard of Islamic home finance, 63 percent said they favored its ethical principles once explained.
Younger generations were the most receptive, with 43 percent of Generation Z and 37 percent of millennials saying they would consider using Islamic home finance, compared with just 7 percent of baby boomers. More than three quarters of Gen Z and 72 percent of millennials also said it was important that their finance provider avoided investing in ethically harmful sectors.
Offa said the findings pointed to an opportunity to expand ethical finance in the UK, provided the industry can deliver faster, simpler and more transparent services.
