Recent findings from the BBC Eye investigation, including a verified audio recording, have raised serious legal and ethical questions regarding ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s role in last year’s deadly crackdown on student protesters.

The audio, authenticated and cited as critical evidence in an international tribunal, appears to capture Hasina personally authorizing the use of lethal force against demonstrators.

Her instructions–to “use lethal weapons” and to “shoot wherever they find [them]”--suggest a direct and deliberate order to deploy deadly violence in response to civil unrest.

According to United Nations investigators, the unrest led to an estimated 1,400 deaths, marking one of the most significant episodes of political violence in Bangladesh since the 1971 War of Independence.

The protests, originally sparked by opposition to civil service job quota policies, quickly evolved into a broader movement against Hasina’s administration, culminating in her departure from power after 15 years.

The audio recording, dated July 18 and captured at Hasina’s official residence, Ganabhaban, is central to the tribunal's case. It appears to document her issuing directives during a time of rapidly escalating tensions, following reports of widespread police brutality.

Subsequent police logs and eyewitness accounts suggest that military-grade weapons were deployed in Dhaka and used in operations that resulted in mass casualties.

Despite denials from Hasina’s party officials, the contents of the recording and the corroborating documentation have led to international scrutiny. Her relocation to India shortly after the events of August 5–when protesters reportedly breached the outer perimeter of her residence–has further fueled calls for transparency and legal action.

The ongoing tribunal, which is trying Hasina in absentia for crimes against humanity, is not being framed by international observers as politically motivated, but rather as a response to overwhelming evidence of state-directed violence.

Legal experts emphasize that the threshold for prosecuting crimes of this nature hinges on documented command responsibility and demonstrable intent–criteria that the leaked recording and accompanying documentation appear to address directly.

This recording is also not an isolated piece of evidence. According to the BBC investigation, it is one of several intercepted conversations involving Sheikh Hasina, believed to have been collected by Bangladesh’s National Telecommunications Monitoring Centre (NTMC), a government-run surveillance agency.

Although the source of the leak remains unidentified, the authenticity of the July 18 recording has been independently verified. The Bangladesh Police’s Criminal Investigation Department has voice-matched the audio to Hasina, and an independent forensic review conducted by experts at Earshot concluded there was no indication of tampering or manipulation.

Their analysis–based on consistent telephonic frequency patterns, background audio cues, and the presence of an Electric Network Frequency (ENF) signature–confirmed that the recording was genuine and contemporaneous.

Serious allegations and proven evidence 

British human rights barrister Toby Cadman, currently advising Bangladesh’s International Criminal Tribunal, has emphasized the evidentiary importance of these recordings, describing them as both clear and properly authenticated, with corroboration from other forms of documentation.

Despite this, the Awami League has maintained that it "cannot confirm whether the tape recording referenced by the BBC is authentic." In light of extensive forensic validation, such a response appears increasingly unsustainable.

United Nations investigators have already linked Hasina's directives to a death toll reaching approximately 1,400 individuals during last year's unrest.

In one of the most severe incidents, at Jatrabari on August 5, at least 52 individuals were reportedly killed when police opened fire on protesters who had been temporarily separated from military personnel.

Footage from CCTV, drones, and eyewitness videos confirms that law enforcement fired indiscriminately at civilians attempting to flee, including those seeking shelter in nearby alleyways and along the highway.

While police officials have acknowledged "excessive use of force" and announced the arrest of 60 officers, the pattern and scale of the violence suggest a broader chain of command.

The evidence points not to isolated misconduct, but to state-directed action that implicates senior leadership.

As mentioned earlier, the audio evidence has been forensically verified. Hasina is currently being tried in absentia on charges that include mass killings, incitement, conspiracy, and failure to prevent large-scale violence against civilians.

The Awami League's official denial of direct involvement or orders from party leadership stands in stark contrast to the verified evidence and the findings of UN investigators, who have concluded that the state's actions may constitute crimes against humanity.

Claims that the force used was "proportionate" and "in good faith" are not supported by the documented outcomes or the scale of civilian deaths.

Meanwhile, India’s refusal to extradite Hasina has not stopped the legal process from proceeding. While her absence presents limitations, it does not negate the significance of the trial.

The process is less about individual retribution and more about establishing accountability at the highest levels of government–a principle essential for rebuilding institutional credibility in Bangladesh.

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