Dhaka: A court in Dhaka, Bangladesh, is set to formally frame charges in a high-profile sedition case against ousted Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina and 285 others.
This marks the initiation of a full-fledged trial over alleged attempts to topple the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government in the country. The case centres on a December 2024 online meeting of a diaspora-backed group called the “Joy Bangla Brigade”. Prosecutors have claimed that the group was used to incite rebellion and plot the overthrow of the interim government that took charge of Hasina fled the country in August that year.
Judge Md Abdus Salam of Dhaka special judge’s court-9 fixed January 21 as the date for framing charges, after transferring the matter from a magistrate’s court once the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) completed its probe and filed a charge sheet against 286 accused. On Tuesday, the court heard preliminary submissions from prosecutors and defence counsel and fixed February 9 as date for further hearing.
According to the prosecution, the Zoom meeting on 19 December 2024, hosted from the United States by Awami League leader Dr Rabbi Alam, drew over 500 participants from Bangladesh and abroad, including senior Awami League figures and Hasina loyalists. CID investigators allege that speeches and messages exchanged during the session pledged to “resist” the interim administration, restore three-time former premier Hasina to power, and encouraged actions that undermined the authority of the lawfully constituted government.
The sedition case was registered on March 27, 2025, after the home ministry sanctioned a CID probe into what authorities termed “anti-state activities” linked to the Joy Bangla Brigade. The chargesheet, submitted on August 14, 2025, accuses Hasina and others under sedition and related provisions for conspiring to overthrow or destabilise the interim regime led by Muhammad Yunus.
Police and court records state that 258 of the 286 accused, including Hasina, have been shown as absconding, which led to publication of newspaper notices summoning them to appear before the court. Hasina has already been declared a fugitive in the case by the CID.
Terming the proceedings as “politically motivated”, the Awami League has alleged that the interim government is using sedition laws to crush opposition and rewrite the country’s political narrative. Meanwhile, human rights groups have warned that the trial will be a key test of due process and judicial independence in post-Hasina Bangladesh.
