Bangladesh calm after death sentence issued for Hasina

Dhaka, Nov. 19: Bangladesh's capital and major cities were calm Tuesday despite a call for a nationwide shutdown by the former ruling party of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina after she was sentenced to death over her crackdown on a student uprising last year.

The International Crimes Tribunal handed down death sentences in absentia to Hasina and former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan on Monday for their involvement in deadly force used against protesters last year.

Hasina's former ruling Awami League party rejected the court proceedings Monday, calling it "a kangaroo court" and called for a nationwide shutdown the next day.

Hasina's opponents clashed with police and soldiers until late Monday and attempted to use excavators to demolish the home of her father, Bangladesh independence leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Local media reported the home of former President Abdul Hamid, a veteran Awami League leader, was vandalized in the northeastern Kishoreganj district.

But on Tuesday, there was no closure of services or shops and schools, although some people expressed tension and confusion over what lies ahead for the South Asian nation, a parliamentary democracy of 170 million people.

Mohammad Saikot Hossain, a Dhaka businessman, said there is "no real rule of law here" and he worries about his children's future.

"Those who ruled the country before shaped the law in their own way, and those who are ruling now are also shaping the law in their own way," he said. "Our next generation is growing up in this environment. They have no aim and no future. I am very worried about where they will go and what they will do in the days to come."

Hasina, 78, was convicted Monday on five charges of crimes against humanity. She also was sentenced to prison until natural death for making inflammatory remarks and ordering the extermination of student protesters with helicopters, drones and lethal weapons.

A former police chief was sentenced to five years' imprisonment after pleading guilty and becoming a state witness against Hasina.(AP)