Sheikh Hasina told the BBC that she never gave any directive to open fire on unarmed civilians

Ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina has insisted that she never ordered security forces to fire on unarmed civilians during the deadly crackdown on last year’s mass uprising.

In an email interview published Friday, Hasina told the BBC she “categorically” rejected the allegations.

“I’m not denying that the situation spiralled out of control or that many lives were lost unnecessarily. But I never issued any order to fire on unarmed civilians,” she said.

Earlier this year, BBC Eye verified leaked audio of one of her phone calls that appeared to show her authorising the use of “lethal weapons” in July 2024. The recording was later played in court.

Hasina was formally charged in July along with former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, who is currently in hiding, and former inspector general of police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, who pleaded guilty that same month but has yet to be sentenced. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Kamal.

She is accused of orchestrating hundreds of killings during the mass protests against her authoritarian rule — an accusation she denies.

In her first interview with the BBC since fleeing Bangladesh on 5 August 2024, Hasina described the trial in absentia as a “farce” conducted by a “kangaroo court” controlled by her political rivals. Prosecutors are also seeking the death penalty for her ahead of Monday’s verdict.

Hasina argued that the outcome had been predetermined, calling it a “pre-ordained guilty verdict.”

Security has been tightened around the tribunal in Dhaka ahead of the ruling, which is expected to be a major moment for the country and for the families of those killed in the student-led protests that toppled her government.

UN human rights investigators have estimated that up to 1,400 people were killed when the former government used systematic, deadly force against demonstrators in an attempt to cling to power.

Hasina has refused to return from India to attend the trial and has been accused of personally ordering security forces to open fire in the weeks before she fled.

She said she had not been able to defend herself or appoint her own lawyers, alleging that her political opponents were attempting to “liquidate” the Awami League as a political force. Her legal team said Monday that they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN citing serious fair trial and due process concerns at the International Crimes Tribunal.

The Awami League has already been barred from contesting the general election scheduled for February.

The BBC interview also addressed additional allegations of abuses during Hasina’s 15 years in power, which are the subject of a separate tribunal case. She denies those charges of crimes against humanity as well.

Following her ouster, several secret detention centres were uncovered, holding individuals who had been imprisoned for years without legal process. Some detainees and critics who disappeared under her government are believed to have been killed unlawfully.

Asked about these abuses, Hasina said she “did not have knowledge” of them.

She also rejected accusations that she was involved in extra-judicial killings and enforced disappearances, saying: “I deny any personal involvement, but if there is evidence of abuse by officials, let it be examined properly through an impartial, depoliticised process.”

Hasina and several top members of her former administration are also facing separate corruption charges, which they deny.