UN Did Not Send Any Letter to Bangladesh’s President to Halt Sheikh Hasina’s Death Sentence Verdict
The International Crimes Tribunal sentenced ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to death after finding them guilty in a case of crimes against humanity. The verdict was delivered by the three-member Tribunal-1, led by Justice Gholam Mortuza Majumder, on November 17. Following this, a claim titled “UN letter to President to stay Sheikh Hasina’s death sentence” is being circulated on social media.
See the Facebook posts making this claim here, here, here, and here.
Fact Check
Rumor Scanner Team’s investigation confirms that the claim of the United Nations sending a letter to the President to stay Sheikh Hasina’s death sentence is not true. While the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) reaffirmed the organization’s position against the death penalty in all circumstances in response to the verdict, there was no incident where they sent a letter to the President to stay Hasina’s death sentence.
In searching for the source of the claim, the original photocard was found published on November 18 on a Facebook page named Iqbal Tv. However, the post did not mention any source or evidence regarding the claim. The page named Iqbal TV primarily creates and disseminates content for entertainment purposes. Due to the wide circulation of this content, many people become confused, believing it to be true.
A subsequent search also found a post with the same claim on a free Blogspot domain. This post also created confusion by offering unverified, fabricated information without supporting sources for the claim.
A keyword search for the claim did not find any statement or message from the UN in the media or any reliable source. However, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) described the verdict against Sheikh Hasina and Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal as “an important moment for victims of the grave violations committed during the suppression of protests last year”. This was mentioned in a report published on the UN website on November 17. In response to the verdict, the OHCHR stated that they have been consistently calling for accountability proceedings that “unquestionably” meet international standards of due process and fair trial.
As part of its work, the UN human rights office advocates for the universal abolition of the death penalty, and over the years, multiple UN resolutions have been passed to protect the rights of those facing capital punishment.
However, a review of the OHCHR’s report did not find any information related to the claim in question.
Therefore, the claim that the United Nations sent a letter to the President to halt Sheikh Hasina’s death sentence is false.