International Counsel on Hasina - Press Conference
PRESS CONFERENCE
ON THE CASE OF SHEIKH HASINA
Statement by Dr. Payam Akhavan
International Counsel to Sheikh Hasina
London, August 6th, 2007
It is my privilege and honour to speak today on behalf of Sheikh Hasina. I have undertaken to represent her with great aforethought and fully aware of the far-reaching importance of her struggle. Like every other human being, Sheikh Hasina is entitled to the protection of her fundamental human rights under international law. But it is obvious that the campaign by the military-backed caretaker government to eliminate her as a political leader has grave consequences not just for her, but also for the future of democracy in Bangladesh. As such, her political persecution through the perversion of justice may be the most significant measure of whether this nation will continue to have free and fair elections, to continue on a historical path of developing a mature democracy through trial and error, or whether Bangladesh will go the way of other countries in the region, where unchecked military rule, political radicalization, and religious violence prevail.
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