Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal-1 on 10 July formally indicted ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina on five charges of crimes against humanity linked to last year’s student-led uprising. The three-judge panel, headed by Justice Golam Mortuza Mozumder, accepted the prosecution’s case that Hasina, 77, ordered security forces to carry out mass killings between July and August 2024. Former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan and former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun were indicted alongside her; Mamun, already in custody, pleaded guilty and asked to testify for the state. The court set 3 August for opening statements and 4 August for witness testimony, with the trial proceeding in absentia for Hasina and Khan, both believed to be in India. Prosecutors presented a leaked 18 July 2024 phone call, authenticated by BBC Eye Investigations and Bangladeshi police, in which a voice attributed to Hasina authorises forces to “use lethal weapons” against demonstrators. The recording is expected to be a central exhibit as the tribunal examines United Nations findings that up to 1,400 people were killed during the crackdown on protests against a contested public-sector quota system. Hasina’s now-banned Awami League rejects the allegations, describing the process as a “kangaroo court” under the Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus-led interim administration. The indictment comes eight days after the same tribunal sentenced Hasina to six months in prison for contempt of court over remarks it said obstructed judicial proceedings. Dhaka has asked New Delhi to extradite the former leader, but India has not commented. If convicted on the new charges, Hasina could face a life sentence, deepening the political rupture that followed her government’s collapse last year.