According to an audio recording of one of Sheikh Hasina’s phone conversations that was authenticated by BBC Eye, the then-prime leader of Bangladesh gave the go-ahead for a violent crackdown on student-led demonstrations that took place in Bangladesh this past year.
Hasina is heard on the audio recording, which was made public in March, stating that she gave her security forces permission to “use lethal weapons” against protestors and that they would “shoot wherever they find [them].”
It is the intention of the prosecutors in Bangladesh to utilize the tape as essential evidence against Hasina, who is now being prosecuted for crimes against humanity at a special tribunal since she is gone from the country.
The instability that occurred throughout the summer of last year resulted in the deaths of up to 1,400 people, according to investigators from the United Nations. Hasina, who has fled to India, and her party have rejected all of the allegations that have been made against her.
The audio recording of Hasina’s talk with a top government official who remained anonymous is the most important proof to yet that she provided direct authorization to kill anti-government protestors. By the summer of last year, tens of thousands of people had come to the streets calling for the government to be removed from power.
Hasina, who had been in power for 15 years, was removed from her position via a popular movement that started with demonstrations against employment quotas in the civil service for families of those who participated in the 1971 war of independence. These protests eventually evolved into a national movement. It is the most severe act of violence that Bangladesh has seen since the war in 1971.
The 5th of August, the day Hasina escaped by helicopter before demonstrators attacked her apartment in Dhaka, was the day when some of the worst incidents took place.
According to the findings of the research conducted by BBC World Service, previously unknown information of a police slaughter of protestors in the capital city was discovered, including a far greater death toll.
According to a person who was familiar with the recording that was released to the BBC, Hasina was present at her mansion in Dhaka, which is officially referred to as the Ganabhaban, for the whole of the conversation that took place on July 18th.
In the course of the protests, it was an important time. The decision was made by security authorities in response to the public outcry that was caused by the deaths of protestors by police that were documented on film and published throughout social media. According to records obtained by the BBC from the Delhi Police Department, military-grade firearms were employed and deployed around the city of Dhaka in the days that followed the call.
The tape that was analyzed by the BBC is only one of several calls that were made by the National Telecommunications Monitoring Centre (NTMC), which is a government agency in Bangladesh that is responsible for monitoring communications. These conversations included Sheikh Hasina.
It is unknown who was responsible for the release of the audio of the call, which occurred at the beginning of March this year. Ever since the demonstrations, multiple recordings of Hasina’s calls have been uploaded to the internet, the most of which are unsubstantiated.
The Criminal Investigation Department of the Bangladesh Police was able to create a voice match between the tape that was released on July 18 and recorded audio of Sheikh Hasina’s voice that was already known.
After doing its own independent verification, the BBC shared the clip with audio forensics specialists Earshot. Earshot discovered no indication that the voice had been altered or changed, and they said that it was very improbable that the speech had been made synthetically.
Earshot said that the tape that was released was most likely captured in a room with the phone conversation being played back on a speaker. This conclusion was reached owing to the existence of unique telephony frequencies and background noises heard in the recording. Throughout the whole of the recording, Earshot detected Electric Network Frequency (ENF), which is a frequency that is often found in audio recordings as a result of interference between a recording device and equipment that is powered by the mains. This frequency serves as an indication that the audio has not been altered in any way.
Sheikh Hasina’s speech was also analyzed by Earshot, which included the rhythm, intonation, and breath sounds. Additionally, consistent noise floor levels were discovered, and there was no indication of manufactured artifacts in the audio.
“The recordings are essential for establishing her role, they are clear and have been properly authenticated, and they are supported by other evidence,” said Toby Cadman, a British international human rights advocate, in an interview with the BBC. The International Criminal Tribunal (ICT) of Bangladesh, which is the court that is considering charges against Hasina and other individuals, is receiving his advice.
It was said by a spokeswoman for the Awami League that “We are unable to confirm whether the tape recording that was mentioned by the BBC is genuine.”
