Bangladesh Tribunal Sentences Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to Death for Crimes Against Humanity

A Bangladeshi tribunal has sentenced former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to death in absentia for crimes against humanity, including murder and ordering the use of lethal force during the 2024 student-led protests that led to her ousting. The International Crimes Tribunal in Dhaka delivered the verdict on Monday, also sentencing former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan to death and former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun to five years in prison. Al-Mamun cooperated with prosecutors and testified as a state witness.

The 2024 protests, initially peaceful, escalated into violence after security forces attempted to suppress the movement, resulting in over 800 deaths according to the interim government, while a UN report estimates the death toll at up to 1,400.

Hasina, who fled to India following her government's collapse in August 2024, has denied the charges, calling the trial politically motivated and illegitimate. She stated she would not appeal the verdict unless a democratically elected, inclusive government is formed.

The verdict comes ahead of elections scheduled for February 2026, from which Hasina's Awami League party has been banned. The interim government, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, has pledged to hold free and fair elections.

Tensions have risen nationwide ahead of the verdict, with reports of arson attacks and bombings. Hasina's son, based in the U.S., dismissed the ruling as legally flawed, while her supporters staged protests against the tribunal's decision.