Hasina says she is “not afraid” of facing charges at the International Criminal Court and insists the interim regime avoids the ICC because it fears scrutiny of its own record.
By PC Bureau
November 17, 2025 — Launching its most forceful counter-offensive since the overthrow of the Hasina government, the Bangladesh Awami League on Monday released a blistering and meticulously detailed five-page open letter that accuses the Yunus-led interim administration of pursuing a “vengeful witch-hunt” and orchestrating politically motivated trials through a “bogus” International Crimes Tribunal (ICT).
The letter — issued from the party headquarters at 23 Bangabandhu Avenue, Dhaka, and bearing the header “Joy Bangla, Joy Bangabandhu” — is packed with direct, unprecedented allegations and extensive quotations from Sheikh Hasina herself. It is expected to escalate the political standoff ahead of the expected 2026 elections and deepen Bangladesh’s already extreme polarisation.
In one of the letter’s most pointed sections, Hasina draws a stark contrast between her administration and the interim regime:
“Our government was democratically elected by the people, and we were accountable to them. We sought their votes during elections and took pains to avoid any action that could harm ordinary citizens.
Dr Yunus, on the other hand, came to power unconstitutionally, and with the support of extremist elements.”
The AL argues that the interim government “lacks any democratic mandate” and is bent on erasing the Awami League from national politics.
In a statement of Hasina shared by Bangladesh Awami League, responding to verdict, she said, “The verdicts announced against me have been made by a rigged tribunal established and presided over by an unelected government with no democratic mandate. They are biased and politically… pic.twitter.com/iTj97h423U
— DNA (@dna) November 17, 2025
On anti-Awami League violence after July–August 2024
The letter accuses the interim government of rewriting the narrative of the 2024 Monsoon Revolution:
“Since July 15, 2024, those responsible for these retaliatory attacks, burnings and lynchings, which were carried out on Yunus’ orders as part of his meticulous plan to seize power, have been granted indemnity.”
It further alleges systemic weaponisation of the judicial process:
“Every criminal charge has been redirected against Awami League members through the presentation of false information by the ICT’s compromised Chief Prosecutor to this bogus court.”
The document even claims that known criminals have been freed:
“Terrorists, extremists, and convicted killers have been released from prison, while the jails have been filled with Awami League leaders and activists.”
READ: Dhaka Seeks Sheikh Hasina’s Extradition After Death Sentence
On charges that Hasina ordered lethal force
Rejecting the main accusation behind the ICT’s death penalty verdict, Hasina states:
“Despite their lurid claims, the ICT’s prosecutors produced no persuasive evidence to show that I ordered the use of lethal force against the people.”
She also challenges the authenticity of key evidence:
“Transcripts and audio files cited as evidence are fragmentary and have been taken out of context.”
Hasina insists that:
“Operational control rested with security forces on the ground, acting under established legal protocols.”
On the impartiality and credibility of the ICT
The letter’s most devastating section takes aim at the tribunal itself:
“Despite its name, there is nothing international about the ICT, nor is it in any way impartial.”
It lists what Hasina calls “incontrovertible facts”:
- “Any senior judges or even senior advocates who have previously expressed any sympathy for the previous government have been removed or intimidated into silence.”
• “The ICT has exclusively prosecuted members of the Awami League.”
• “It has done precisely nothing to prosecute or even investigate perpetrators from other parties of documented violence against religious minorities, indigenous people, journalists and others.”
Hasina concludes:
“Its guilty verdict against me was a foregone conclusion. No genuinely respected or professional jurist in the world would endorse the Bangladesh ICT.”
On challenging the interim government to go to the ICC
One of the most politically consequential claims is Hasina’s repeated call to move the case to The Hague:
“I am not afraid to face my accusers in a proper tribunal where the evidence can be weighed and tested fairly.”
“That is why I have repeatedly challenged the interim government to bring these charges before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.”
She adds: “The interim government will not accept this challenge, because it knows that the ICC would acquit me.”
Further, she warns that: “The interim government also fears that the ICC would scrutinise its own record of human rights breaches in office.”
On disputed death tolls and alleged cover-up
The letter directly challenges the international narrative:
“The UN’s much-quoted fatality estimate of 1,400 deaths is also disputed. Bangladesh’s own Ministry of Health has a verified count of 834 deaths…
52 of those individuals were not killed by gunfire… and about 19 people reported dead were later found alive.”
On the alleged presence of military-grade weapons among agitators
In one of its most sensational claims, the letter states:
“Witness testimony and forensic evidence suggest these agitators were in possession of military-grade weapons and ammunition, including 7.62-calibre bullets, that they used to attack law enforcement personnel and other civilians.”
According to the AL, these weapons were introduced deliberately to escalate public anger against the Hasina government.
A Counter-Narrative That Could Reshape Bangladesh’s Political Battlefield
The open letter is the Awami League’s first fully articulated attempt to recast the 2024 Monsoon Revolution not as a spontaneous mass uprising but as a “meticulously engineered seizure of power” aimed at installing Dr Muhammad Yunus.
By publicly challenging the interim government to refer the case to the International Criminal Court — and declaring confidence of acquittal — the AL has thrown down a high-stakes challenge that Dhaka would find difficult to ignore without appearing afraid of international judicial scrutiny.
Interim Government’s First Reaction
As of 6:45 PM IST, 17 November 2025, neither the Chief Adviser’s Office nor the ICT has released an official response.
However, senior sources inside the interim administration dismissed the letter as:
“a desperate attempt by fugitives to deflect responsibility for mass murder.”
What This Means for Bangladesh
With elections still unscheduled and the second anniversary of the uprising approaching, today’s explosive document is almost certain to intensify political tensions.
The five-page letter may become the centerpiece of the Awami League’s attempt to rebuild its credibility — and the focal point of the next major confrontation in Bangladesh’s deeply divided political landscape.
