Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has alleged that her trial in absentia was a “farce” run by a “kangaroo court” controlled by her political rivals.

Hasina has been accused of orchestrating hundreds of killings during the mass protests against her autocratic rule—an allegation she denies, according to a BBC interview published on Friday, just days before the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) is due to deliver a verdict.

In her first interview with the British broadcaster since she fled the country on 5 August last year, Hasina hopes that a ban on her party will be lifted before general elections due next year.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Hasina if she is found guilty on Monday.

UN human rights investigators have reported that up to 1,400 people were killed between 15 July and 15 August 2024, including the period during which Hasina and her government allegedly used systematic and deadly force against protesters in a failed attempt to retain power.

“I’m not denying that the situation got out of control, nor that many lives were lost needlessly. But I never issued any order to fire on unarmed civilians,” she said.

Over the past few months, prosecutors have presented the tribunal with evidence that they say proves her guilt.

Hasina is charged with personally ordering security forces to fire at protesters in the weeks before she fled.

Leaked audio of one of her phone calls verified by BBC Eye earlier this year suggests that she had authorised the use of “lethal weapons” in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the trial.

Refusing to return from India to attend the trial, she said, “We hope that common sense will prevail and that this (election) ban will be lifted. We have tens of millions of supporters who must not be disenfranchised.”

“Whether in government or opposition, the Awami League is part of the national conversation in Bangladesh, and that will not change,” Hasina added in written answers to emailed questions from the BBC.

Hasina was formally indicted in July of this year, along with two others: former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and former Inspector General of Police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun.

Prosecutors have sought the death penalty for Kamal, who is currently in hiding. Kamal pleaded guilty in July but has not yet been sentenced.

Speaking about the trial, Hasina said she has been unable to defend herself or appoint her own lawyers. She added that her political opponents targeted her in an effort to “liquidate” the Awami League as a political force ahead of the February 2026 election.

On Monday, her lawyers issued a statement saying they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN, raising serious concerns about fair-trial and due-process violations at the International Crimes Tribunal in Bangladesh.

Hasina’s interview with the BBC also addressed other serious allegations of abuses during her 15-year rule, which are set to be examined in a separate case at the special tribunal. She denies charges of crimes against humanity in that case as well.

Following her ouster, several secret jails were uncovered in which prisoners had been held for years without legal process. Many other critics and opponents of Hasina, who were abducted or detained in these facilities, are alleged to have been killed unlawfully.

When asked who was responsible, Hasina said she “did not have knowledge” of these incidents. She also denied any involvement in alleged extra-judicial killings and disappearances, which rights groups claim occurred under her leadership.

“This is denied in terms of my own involvement, but if there is evidence of abuse by officials, let us have it examined properly in an impartial, depoliticised process,” she told the BBC.