Bangladesh Tribunal Sentences Fugitive Ex-PM Sheikh Hasina to Death for Crimes Against Humanity

Landmark verdict finds Hasina guilty of ordering a deadly crackdown on a student-led uprising last year, as Dhaka demands India extradite her.

DHAKA – A special tribunal in Bangladesh sentenced former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to death on Monday, a dramatic and historic verdict following a months-long trial that found her guilty of ordering a deadly crackdown on a student-led uprising that engulfed the nation last year.

The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in the capital, Dhaka, convicted the 78-year-old leader and two of her top aides on charges of crimes against humanity. The United Nations estimates that up to 1,400 people were killed and thousands more injured during the summer of 2023, when Hasina’s government unleashed security forces in a brutal effort to quell the protests and cling to power.

“The evidence demonstrates a systematic and widespread attack directed against a civilian population,” presiding judge Golam Mortuza Mozumder stated as he read the verdict to a packed and tense courtroom. “All the… elements constituting crimes against humanity have been fulfilled.” The judge found Hasina guilty on three counts: incitement, order to kill, and inaction to prevent the atrocities. “We have decided to inflict her with only one sentence – that is, sentence of death.”

The highly anticipated ruling, broadcast live on national television, sends seismic waves through the political landscape of this South Asian nation of 170 million people. It comes less than three months before the first scheduled elections since Hasina was overthrown in a dramatic turn of events and fled to India in August 2024.

A Divided Courtroom and a Nation

In a simultaneous ruling, former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, seen as the chief architect of the crackdown, was also sentenced to death in absentia after being found guilty on four counts. In stark contrast, former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, who was present in court and had pleaded guilty in a deal with prosecutors, received a five-year prison sentence.

The reactions in and outside the courtroom mirrored the deep divisions within Bangladeshi society. Families of victims, many holding portraits of their lost loved ones, cheered and wept with relief, while others outside the tribunal complex sank to their knees in prayer. For them, the verdict represents a long-awaited measure of accountability for what they call the “Dark Summer of 2023.”

However, in the strongholds of Hasina’s Awami League party, a mood of anger and defiance prevailed. Sporadic clashes were reported between party supporters and police, who were deployed in force around government buildings and the tribunal complex.

Hasina Denounces a ‘Political Witch-Hunt’

From her undisclosed location in India, Sheikh Hasina issued a fiery statement condemning the verdict as a “biased and politically motivated sham.” She dismissed the tribunal as “rigged” and a tool of the current interim government.

“The charges are a grotesque distortion of the truth,” she stated. “We acted in good faith under immense pressure, constantly trying to de-escalate and minimise the loss of life. To characterise a tragic loss of control as a premeditated assault on citizens is a lie.” She expressed mourning for “all of the deaths that occurred… on both sides of the political divide,” but firmly denied ever ordering the killing of protesters.

Under Bangladeshi law, Hasina cannot appeal the verdict unless she surrenders or is arrested within 30 days of the judgment—a near-impossibility given her refuge in India.

A Diplomatic Firestorm with India

Within hours of the verdict, the Bangladeshi foreign ministry formally urged India to “immediately hand over” Hasina and Khan, calling it an “obligatory responsibility” under international law.

The demand sets the stage for a major diplomatic confrontation. India’s Ministry of External Affairs responded with a terse statement, saying it had “noted the verdict” and would “engage constructively” with Bangladesh, pointedly avoiding any mention of extradition.

Analysts were unanimous in their assessment. “Under no circumstances is India going to extradite her,” said Sreeradha Datta, a professor of South Asian Studies at India’s Jindal Global University. “Relations between India and Bangladesh are already at a low point, and handing over a former prime minister who India has historically had close ties with is politically unthinkable for New Delhi.”

A Verdict for the Future, Rooted in a Bloody Past

The interim government of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, which took power after Hasina’s ouster, described the verdict as “historic” and a testament to the rule of law. In a national address, a government spokesman called for calm but warned that any attempts to create disorder would be dealt with firmly.

The timing of the verdict is deeply significant. With elections scheduled for February, the interim government is under pressure to demonstrate its legitimacy and distance itself from the previous administration’s alleged abuses.

“AUTHORITIES IN THE INTERIM GOVERNMENT WANT TO SHOW THAT IT IS POSSIBLE TO HAVE A CLEAN AND BETTER JUDICIAL PROCESS UNDER THEIR WATCH,” SAID ABBAS FAIZ, AN INDEPENDENT SOUTH ASIA RESEARCHER. “FOR THE BANGLADESHIS WHO LOST LOVED ONES, THIS IS A MOMENT OF VINDICATION, BUT THEY STILL WANT TO SEE CLOSURE. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS VERDICT ALSO OPENS THE DOOR FOR A NATIONAL RECONCILIATION PROCESS, WHICH IS NOT A BAD THING.”

The international response was mixed. While the UN rights office acknowledged the sentencing as “an important moment for victims,” spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani raised concerns that the trial held in absentia may not have met all international due process and fair trial standards. She added, “We also regret the imposition of the death penalty, which we oppose in all circumstances.”

As Bangladesh grapples with the fallout, the death sentence for its former leader leaves the nation at a critical crossroads, torn between a quest for justice and the peril of deepening political fissures, all under the shadow of a major diplomatic standoff.

 

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