Bangladesh’s Awami League has strongly condemned the trial proceedings launched against its leader and former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), branding it a “show trial” orchestrated by the interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus.

In a statement released Saturday, the party denounced the ICT process as biased and politically driven. “The trial is yet another reminder of the erosion of democracy under the unelected regime of Dr. Muhammad Yunus,” the statement said.

The Awami League rejected allegations that Hasina ordered state forces to use lethal force during last summer’s anti-government protests. While acknowledging isolated incidents of violence and lapses in security force discipline, the party stressed there was no coordinated action from the leadership to suppress dissent.

“The political leadership had no role in street-level crowd control measures. It is misleading to frame the events as a deliberate assault on civilians,” the statement said.

The party also questioned the impartiality of the tribunal, noting that several government officials have publicly pronounced Hasina guilty, undermining any chance of a fair trial.

Hasina, along with former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and ex-police chief Abdullah Al-Mamun, is accused of ordering crackdowns on protestors. The ICT, ironically, was originally set up by Hasina’s own government to prosecute war crimes committed during Bangladesh’s 1971 Liberation War.

Critics have called the current developments a political vendetta, pointing to the spate of cases filed against Hasina and her allies since her ouster in August 2024. Forced to flee the country, Hasina sought refuge in India on August 5, 2024.

The Awami League called on the international community to take note of the deteriorating democratic norms in Bangladesh.