The Buzz | Bangladesh court sentences five ex-cops to death for killing

A Bangladesh court sentenced five former police officials to death yesterday for opening fire on a motorcade of then opposition leader Sheikh Hasina 31 years ago, killing 24 of her supporters during an anti-government rally.
Judge Mohammed Ismail Hossain in southeastern Bangladesh’s Chittagong city announced the verdict with four defendants present, said prosecution lawyer Shibu Prakash Biswas. One defendant has fled, he said.
Hasina is now prime minister of the South Asian nation. On Jan. 24, 1988, police started shooting as Hasina’s motorcade surrounded by her supporters was approaching the rally against then military dictator H.M. Ershad. He ruled the country for nearly nine years until 1990, when he was overthrown in an uprising.
The prosecution said the target was to kill Hasina, but her supporters formed “a human shield,” surrounding her when the shooting started.
After the killings took place, the bodies were taken to a local crematorium and cremated regardless of religious identities, without giving their families any chance to see them.
Bangladesh has gone through numerous political upheavals since its independence from Pakistan in 1971, involving killings, military coups and counter-coups.