‘The ugliest thing’: Bangladesh leader reacts to ‘House of Mirrors’ prison – and vows to put Sheikh Hasina on trial

Published

2 months ago

March 5, 2025

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The interim leader of Bangladesh, Muhammad Yunus, has told Sky News former prime minister Sheikh Hasina will stand trial for crimes against humanity.

Ms Hasina is accused of overseeing a system of enforced disappearances during her time in government, as well as the mass killing of protesters in July and August last year.

Read more: Inside Bangladesh’s secret prisons

Speaking to Sky News, Professor Yunus said: “A trial will be taking place. Not only her, but also all the people who are associated with her – her family members, her clients or associates.”

Ms Hasina, who was toppled by the protests and is currently in exile in India, is accused of overseeing a network of secret detention centres where it’s alleged her political opponents were interrogated, tortured and some killed – all under the banner of a “war on terror”.

Bangladesh has issued two arrest warrants for her. Professor Yunus said they had sent “formal letters” but received “no official response” from New Delhi.

He insisted, however, that Ms Hasina would face the court, whether physically present in Bangladesh or in absentia, in India.

Professor Yunus recently visited one of the now infamous secret jails, code-named the ‘House of Mirrors’. The economics professor, known as the ‘banker to the poor’ and now chief adviser of Bangladesh, said he was beyond shocked at what he saw.

“This is just the ugliest thing that you can see, you can feel, or you can observe,” he said.

Ms Hasina is accused of using her security forces and police to oversee the abduction, torture and murder of hundreds of activists.

She denies the allegations and says she’s being politically persecuted.

Ms Hasina, her close aides and many of those accused of overseeing a network of as many as 800 secret jails have fled Bangladesh.

Professor Yunus said the number and range of people involved in the alleged crimes was “taking time” to work through.

“Everybody was involved in it all,” he said. “The whole government was involved in it. So you cannot distinguish who was really and enthusiastically doing it, who was doing it under orders and who was not quite supportive but carrying out those kinds of things.”

Ms Hasina, the military and police are also accused of a violent crackdown on protesters in July and August which the UN estimates killed as many as 1,400 people in the days before the former prime minister fled.

Professor Yunus tried to manage expectations around how quickly the families of victims will see justice, and whether that will happen under his watch.

Elections for a new government in the country could happen as early as December.

“Some will get punished, some will still be under the process, some will still be untraceable,” he said.

Investigations into alleged corruption

The chief adviser has had a large in-tray to deal with since taking over a country in turmoil, including anti-corruption probes into those connected to Ms Hasina.

British Labour MP Tulip Siddiq, who is Ms Hasina’s niece, is one of those being investigated by Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).

Professor Yunus said the case against her was “serious”, that she had a large amount of “wealth left behind” in the country and “everything” would be looked at.

Ms Siddiq resigned as anti-corruption minister in January after being named in the investigation in Bangladesh.

A spokesperson for the London MP said she “totally denies the claims” and had “not been contacted on these matters”.

Managing refugee crisis

The influx of Rohingya refugees into Bangladesh is another challenge for Professor Yunus’s leadership.

There’s been a sharp rise in the number of the mainly Muslim minority fleeing Myanmar into Bangladesh after escalating violence in the country’s long-running civil war.

Professor Yunus said they were now in talks with rebel groups in Myanmar about the possibility of a “safe zone” to eventually help the Rohingya refugees to return to their homeland.

He also acknowledged big problems in Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh, home to the largest refugee camp in the world, where an estimated one million Rohingya refugees have fled to – and where “violence, drugs and paramilitary activities” are rife.

The tension, Professor Yunus said, “will not disappear”.

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British surgeon working in Gaza says it is now ‘a slaughterhouse’ amid Israeli bombardment

Published

4 hours ago

May 18, 2025

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British surgeon working in Gaza says it is now 'a slaughterhouse' amid Israeli bombardment

A British surgeon working in southern Gaza has compared the region to a “slaughterhouse” because of the daily bombardment from Israeli forces.

Dr Tom Potokar, who is based at the European Hospital near Khan Younis in southern Gaza, offered his assessment of Israel’s military offensive after Palestinian health officials reported at least 130 people were killed overnight into Sunday.

Israel Defence Forces (IDF) have confirmed their troops have begun “extensive ground operations throughout the northern and southern Gaza Strip”.

In a video, Dr Potokar said it was “another day of devastation here in Gaza”, adding: “The stories coming from the north… absolutely horrific… particularly around the Indonesian Hospital.”

“I mean, it’s difficult to describe in words what’s happening here… [with the] constant sound of bombardment jets overhead.

“If Cambodia was the killing fields, then Gaza now is the slaughterhouse.”

His reference to Cambodia’s killing fields refers to when more than a million people were murdered in mass executions and buried by the extreme communist guerrilla group, the Khmer Rouge, under Pol Pot, between 1975 and 1979.

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said 464 people had died in Israeli military strikes in the week to Sunday.

In a statement on Sunday, IDF said its air force struck “over 670 Hamas terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip to disrupt enemy preparations and support ground operations” over the past week.

Dr Potokar described the impact on those on the ground, saying: “We’ve been operating all morning so far and [treating] awful explosive injuries… [including] one young woman with leg fracture and shoulder fracture and a large wound on her buttock, who came in yesterday and is not yet aware that everyone in our family was killed in the onslaught.”

Israel has launched an escalation of its war in Gaza to ramp up pressure on Hamas, seize territory, displace Palestinians to the south and take greater control over the distribution of aid.

On Sunday, it announced and launched “extensive” new ground operations in Gaza.

It came after airstrikes killed more than 100 people, including dozens of children, overnight and into Sunday, hospitals and medics said, and forced northern Gaza’s main hospital to close.

A spokesperson for the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said: “Complete families were wiped off the civil registration record by Israeli bombardment”.

The ministry also said the bombardment had forced the closure of the Indonesian Hospital, the main hospital serving people in northern Gaza.

Nasser hospital, in the southern city of Khan Younis, said more than 48 people – mostly women and children – were killed in the area which includes tents sheltering displaced people.

In Deir al Balah, in central Gaza, at least 12 people were killed in three separate strikes, according to Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital and the Nuseirat camp’s Awda Hospital.

Meanwhile, the Gaza health ministry and the Palestinian Civil Defence – which operates under the Hamas-run government – reported that 19 people were killed in several strikes in Jabalia in northern Gaza.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the strikes.

Read more from Sky News:
How Israel has escalated Gaza bombing campaign

Ceasefire talks are taking place in Qatar this weekend – with Israel saying they involve discussions on ending the war as well as a truce and hostage deal.

A statement from the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said any lasting truce must include the demilitarisation of Gaza as well as the exile of Hamas militants.

But a senior Israeli official added there had been little progress so far during talks in Qatar’s capital Doha.

Sky News Arabia reported Hamas had proposed freeing about half its Israeli hostages in exchange for a two-month ceasefire and the release of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

A Palestinian official close to the discussions said: “Hamas is flexible about the number of hostages it can free, but the problem has always been over Israel’s commitment to end the war.”

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Russia launches ‘heaviest drone attack’ on Ukraine since start of war

Published

5 hours ago

May 18, 2025

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Russia launches 'heaviest drone attack' on Ukraine since start of war

Russia has launched its heaviest drone attack on Ukraine since the start of the war in 2022, the Ukrainian military has said.

A total of 273 exploding drones were reportedly fired across the Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions between Saturday night and Sunday morning.

Some 88 were intercepted and 128 “lost”, having been electronically jammed, Ukraine’s air force said.

It passes the previous record of 267 drones on the eve of the war’s third anniversary earlier this year.

In Kyiv, a 28-year-old woman was killed, and three people, including a four-year-old child were injured, according to regional governor Mykola Kalashnyk.

Just outside the city, firefighters fought to control flames at business premises destroyed by drone attacks. Russia has not commented.

It comes ahead of a planned phone call between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

Mr Trump has promised to speak to Mr Putin and then President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday about “ending the war” after the first direct talks between their two countries failed to yield a ceasefire this week.

Mr Putin snubbed Mr Zelenskyy’s offer of face-to-face talks in Turkey.

A source from the Ukrainian negotiation team told Sky News that Russia threatened “eternal war” during talks between officials.

Kremlin representatives are also reported to have threatened that Ukraine may lose “more than just loved ones” while at the negotiating table.

Talks did bring promise of the largest ever prisoner swap between the two nations – involving 1,000 prisoners of war on each side.

Ukraine’s military intelligence chief said he hoped it would take place over the next week.

Elsewhere in Sumy, northeastern Ukraine, on Saturday, nine people were killed and seven injured after a bus evacuating civilians was hit by a Russian drone in the town of Bilopillia, according to Ukrainian officials.

On Sunday, Mr Zelenskyy was in Vatican City attending the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV.

He was pictured shaking hands with US Vice President JD Vance after their tense clash at the White House earlier this year.

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More than 100 people killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza, say medics

Published

5 hours ago

May 18, 2025

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More than 100 people killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza, say medics

At least 103 people have been killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza overnight and into Sunday, according to hospitals and medics.

Israel has launched an escalation of its war in Gaza to ramp up pressure on Hamas, seize territory, displace Palestinians to the south and take greater control over the distribution of aid.

Meanwhile, Israel says talks with Hamas taking place in Qatar this weekend involve discussions on ending the war as well as a truce and hostage deal.

Addressing the strikes overnight, a spokesperson for the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said: “Complete families were wiped off the civil registration record by Israeli bombardment”.

The ministry also said airstrikes had forced the closure of the Indonesian Hospital, the main hospital serving people in northern Gaza.

Nasser hospital, in the southern city of Khan Younis, said more than 48 people – mostly women and children – were killed in the area, including tents sheltering displaced people.

In Deir al Balah, in central Gaza, at least 12 people were killed in three separate strikes, according to Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital and the Nuseirat camp’s Awda hospital.

Meanwhile, the Gaza health ministry and the Palestinian Civil Defence – which operates under the Hamas-run government – reported that 19 people were killed in multiple strikes in Jabalia, northern Gaza.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the latest strikes.

Peace talks include ending war in Gaza

It comes as peace talks between Israel and Hamas continue in Qatar this weekend, including discussions about ending the war.

A statement from the Israeli Prime Minister’s office said on Sunday that any lasting truce must include the demilitarisation of Gaza as well as the exile of Hamas militants.

But a senior Israeli official added that the talks in the capital, Doha, had made little progress so far.

Sky News Arabia reported that Hamas had proposed freeing about half its Israeli hostages in exchange for a two-month ceasefire and the release of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

A Palestinian official close to the discussions said: “Hamas is flexible about the number of hostages it can free, but the problem has always been over Israel’s commitment to end the war.”

Four journalists killed in Israeli airstrikes

Details have emerged on Sunday about the deaths of four Palestinian journalists in Gaza following Israeli airstrikes.

Abdel Rahman al Abadleh was missing for two days before his body was found in the town of al Qarara in southern Gaza.

Three other journalists were also killed following strikes on Saturday. Aziz al Hajjar, his wife and children, died in the Bir al Naaja neighbourhood of northern Gaza.

Ahmed al Zenati, his wife Noor al Madhoun and their children Mohammad and Khaled, were killed in Khan Younis.

Meanwhile, in Deir al Balah, central Gaza, Nour Qandil, her husband Khaled Abu Seif, and their young daughter were also killed.

Israel has blocked the entry of medical, food and fuel supplies into Gaza since the start of March. It is attempting to pressurise Hamas into freeing Israeli hostages and has approved plans that could involve seizing the whole of Gaza and controlling aid.

‘Systematic campaign targeting hospitals’

Earlier on Sunday, Gaza’s health ministry issued a statement accusing Israel of “intensifying its systematic campaign to target hospitals”.

“After putting the European Gaza Hospital out of service a few days ago, the Israeli occupation has intensified its targeting and siege of the Indonesian Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip since dawn today,” it added.

Israel has previously denied deliberately targeting civilians and accused Hamas of using hospitals for military purposes.

This week, Israel said it had bombed the European Hospital because it was home to an underground Hamas base, but Sky News analysis has cast doubt on its evidence.

Houthis launch missile towards Israel

Separately, the Israeli military said on Sunday it had intercepted a missile launched from Yemen towards Israel.

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis said they had targeted Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv with two ballistic missiles.

The Houthis have fired at Israel because of the plight of Palestinians in Gaza, while Israel has carried out airstrikes in response, including one on 6 May that damaged Yemen’s main airport in Sanaa and killed several people.

The war in Gaza began on 7 October 2023, when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and abducting 251 others.

Israel’s military response has killed more than 53,000 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.