Like Sheikh Hasina, Yunus government is using the International Crimes Tribunal to settle scores

Even as Bangladesh’s Election Commission remains undecided on a firm date for holding elections in February 2026, the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government has been quick to move against future electoral nominees, debarring them from contesting the polls if they are found to have police indictments against them.

On September 4, an official announcement said that the interim government had approved an amendment to the rules governing the functioning of the International Crimes Tribunal, which will bar any person charged with crimes against humanity to contest elections or hold government employment.

While the quasi-legal International Crimes Tribunal, since its operationalisation during the then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s post-2008 tenure, has been criticised for being a platform for settling political scores, the interim government’s decision now will serve to reinforce this practice.

Since its revival 14 years ago, the International Crimes Tribunal has been plagued by allegations ofjudicial missteps, shortcomings and a failure to stand the test of international judicial standards.

Clearly, the interim regime seeks to hit against the Awami League which remains a formidable political force in Bangladesh’s fractious politics. The party has already been slapped with a temporary ban, but the Yunus-led authority’s latest move involves introducing a fresh clause in the International Crimes (Tribunal) Act, 1973, that aims to disqualify any person from contesting elections or...

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