Condolences to the dead; want justice from the countrymen: Sheikh Hasina

New Delhi: In the first-ever response after her government was overthrown by violent protests across the country, former prime minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina appealed for “justice from the countrymen.”

In an emotional statement posted on X by her son Sajeeb Wazed, Hasina accused the protesters who vandalised national monuments including a statue of her father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman -the founding father of Bangladesh- of “insulting the blood of millions of martyrs.”

“The Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, under whose leadership we have gained self-esteem as an independent nation, got self-identity and got an independent country, has been grossly insulted. They insulted the blood of millions of martyrs. I want justice from the countrymen,” Hasina said.

Hasina recounted the killings of her family members in 1975 during the military coup in Bangladesh and expressed condolences for the lives lost in the recent protests against her government.

“Since last July, many fresh lives have been lost due to vandalism, arson and violence in the name of agitation. Students, teachers, police even internal women police, journalists, cultural workers, working people, Awami League and affiliated organization leaders, workers, pedestrians and workers in various institutions who have died as a victim of terrorist attack, I am condoling and praying for their souls,” she said.

She also demanded an investigation into the killings and vandalism of properties that followed a violent outbreak of anti-governmnet protests across the country.