Zakir Hossain from Dhaka
Bangladesh’s interim government has barred ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and senior Awami League (AL) leaders from contesting elections, following a new amendment to the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act, 1973 disqualifying anyone charged with crimes against humanity.
The International Crimes Tribunal (Third Amendment) Ordinance, 2025—approved on September 4 and gazetted Monday—introduced Section 20C, preventing those formally charged from holding public office or contesting polls until acquitted.
ICT Chief Prosecutor Muhammad Tajul Islam said, “Any person formally charged with crimes at the ICT will be ineligible to contest elections or hold government jobs.” He added the change ensures “accountability at all levels of public office.”
Hasina, along with former ministers Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, Hasanul Haq Inu, Mahbubul Alam Hanif, and others, now stand disqualified.
The ICT has also begun a formal investigation into the Awami League as a party for alleged crimes during the 2024 mass uprising that ousted Hasina. “Although parties were banned before, this is the first formal investigation against one,” said ICT Prosecutor SM Mainul Karim. The probe follows a complaint by NDM chief Bobby Hajjaj, accusing the AL and its 14-party allies of “mass killings.”
Since Hasina’s fall, 84 of 209 accused in 30 ICT cases have been detained. Hasina, who fled to India on August 5, 2024, is being tried in absentia for ordering the killing of over 1,400 protesters.