Security around the International Crimes Tribunal has been heightened as the Awami League’s lockdown program, declared illegal by the authorities, began centering on the upcoming verdict in a war crimes case against deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and two others accused of committing crimes against humanity during the July Uprising.
The verdict is scheduled to be announced on Thursday, by the International Crimes Tribunal-1, led by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mojumdar.
On-site visits around 7am revealed that security checkpoints had been set up at Dhaka’s entry points.
At the tribunal gate adjacent to the High Court Mazar, members of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), and Armed Police Battalion (APBn) were seen on high alert.
Meanwhile, panic has spread among the public following three consecutive days of cocktail explosions and arson attacks on vehicles since Monday, ahead of the lockdown.
Major roads in the capital appeared largely deserted on Thursday morning. The presence of people in various city areas was significantly lower than usual, and the number of vehicles on the streets had also dropped notably.
