Mohammad Amir Hossain, the state-appointed lawyer representing the fugitive and ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the International Crimes Tribunal, has said the trial was “transparent and well-conducted,” adding that he “would have been happiest” had his client been acquitted.
Speaking to reporters at the tribunal premises on Monday morning, he said:
“I naturally want my client to be acquitted. But there is no legal provision to communicate with her, so I did not try. Neither did she nor anyone else attempt to contact or assist me.”
The lawyer said that after months of arguments, his expectation remained Hasina’s acquittal. “I fought this case for months—if she were acquitted, no one would be happier than me,” he added.
Responding to questions about the prosecution’s contradictory statements, he said, “The prosecution will say what they want; I have said what I needed to say. The tribunal will judge.”
Authorities have deployed extensive layers of security — police, RAB, APBn, BGB and the military — around the International Crimes Tribunal and the Supreme Court complex ahead of the verdict. Since Sunday evening, movement through parts of Doel Chattar and nearby roads has been restricted.
On 13 November, Tribunal-1 set Monday as the date for the verdict. The three-member panel, headed by Justice Golam Mortuza Mojumdar, will deliver the judgment today.
Over 28 working days, 54 witnesses testified in the case, followed by nine days of arguments and rebuttals. The prosecution has sought the maximum punishment for Sheikh Hasina and former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, while leaving the fate of former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun — now a state witness — to the tribunal.
The case includes five charges of crimes against humanity, with an eight-thousand-page dossier and 84 listed witnesses.
Despite the gravity of the charges, state-appointed lawyer Amir Hossain remains hopeful: “I firmly believe both Hasina and Kamal will be acquitted.