Bangladesh bans activities by ousted Premier Hasina’s party

DHAKA, Bangladesh

The Bangladeshi transitional government banned "all activities" of the Awami League party of the ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday, until trials of its leaders and the party are completed.

“It has been decided to ban all activities of the Awami League, including cyberspace and elsewhere, under the anti-terrorism act until the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) completes the trial of the party and its leaders,” law affairs adviser Asif Nazrul told reporters following an emergency meeting of the Advisory Council led by interim leader Muhammad Yunus.

The council amended laws concerning the ICT to incorporate provisions about trying political parties, affiliates or support groups.

A UN fact-finding report said 1,400 people, including 13% of children, were killed between July and August last year during a student-led uprising which brought down Hasina's government.

The UN accused Hasina and her Awami League party of crimes against humanity.

Hasina and the party, however, has rejected the allegations and said the trial is politically motivated.

The tribunal handed out death sentences in 2013 to the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami party leaders for crimes during Bangladesh’s War of Independence in 1971, drawing criticism at home and abroad about a lack of international standards.