Bangladesh’s ousted leader Sheikh Hasina sentenced to death

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A Bangladesh court sentenced ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina to be hanged for crimes against humanity on Monday, with cheers breaking out in the packed court as the judge read out the verdict. Hasina, 78, defied court orders that she return from India to attend her trial about whether she ordered a deadly crackdown against a student-led uprising last year that eventually ousted her. The highly anticipated ruling, which was broadcast live on national television, came less than three months before the first polls in the South Asian country of 170 million people since her overthrow in August 2024. “All the… elements constituting crimes against humanity have been fulfilled,” judge Golam Mortuza Mozumder read to the court in Dhaka. The former leader was found guilty on three counts: incitement, order to kill, and inaction to prevent the atrocities, the judge said. “We have decided to inflict her with only one sentence — that is, sentence of death.” Crowds waved the national fl...
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Cameroon opposition’s Tchiroma claims election victory, urges Biya to concede

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by: EMMANUEL TUMANJONG, NGALA KILLIAN CHIMTOM and MARK BANCHEREAU, Associated Press

Cameroon opposition candidate Issa Tchiroma Bakary claimed victory in the Oct. 12 presidential election ahead of the release of official results, urging President Paul Biya, the world’s oldest president, to concede.

“Our victory is clear, it must be respected,” Tchiroma said in a video statement on Facebook, calling on Biya to “accept the truth of the ballot box” or “plunge the country into turmoil.” He said he will share a detailed report of the votes by region in the coming days.

Elections Cameroon, the independent body in charge of overseeing the poll, and the constitutional court have not yet announced any results. Official results are expected at the latest by Oct. 26.

Analysts have predicted a victory for Biya, 92, as the opposition remained divided and his strongest rival was barred from running in August. Eleven opposition candidates were on the ballot for the Oct. 12 election.

Minister of Territorial Administration Paul Atanga Nji rejected Tchiroma’s claim and accused the opposition candidate of trying to disrupt the electoral process.

“This crooked candidate is attempting to implement a cleverly planned diabolical plan with his occult networks at home and abroad aimed at setting Cameroon ablaze,” Atanga Nji said in a statement.

Atanga Nji had warned last week that any unauthorized release of results would be deemed “high treason,” saying only the Constitutional Council can declare a winner.

Tchiroma, who is in his late seventies, was a government spokesperson and minister of employment under Biya but quit the government last year to launch his presidential run. His campaign drew large crowds and backing from a coalition of opposition parties and civic groups.

Biya has been in power since 1982, nearly half his lifetime, making him Cameroon’s second president since independence from France in 1960.

During Biya’s decades in power, the Central African nation of nearly 30 million people has struggled with challenges from a deadly secessionist movement in the west and chronic corruption that has stifled development despite rich natural resources like oil and minerals.

Around 8 million voters were eligible to vote in Cameroon’s election, which uses a single-round electoral system that awards the presidency to the candidate with the most votes.

During the last presidential election in 2018, the opposition leader Maurice Kamto claimed victory a day after the vote. He was later arrested, leading to protests and dozens of his supporters being detained.

Biya cruised to victory with over 70% in an election marred by irregularities and a low turnout.



from The Times Of Earth https://ift.tt/CVeDfNq

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