Highlights:
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Sheikh Hasina received a death sentence for crimes against humanity linked to the 2024 student protests.
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She was tried in absentia and is currently in exile in India.
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The tribunal said she ordered attacks using drones, helicopters, and lethal weapons.
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A former police chief was pardoned after cooperating with investigators.
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A UN report estimated up to 1,400 deaths during the “July Uprising.”
Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal has sentenced former prime minister Sheikh Hasina to death, ruling that she committed crimes against humanity during last year’s student-led protest movement. Hasina, who left Bangladesh on August 4, 2024 as unrest escalated, was tried in absentia and is currently living in exile in India.
The tribunal found her responsible for actions that contributed to the collapse of her Awami League government. Former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal was also tried in absentia. Former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, initially charged alongside them, received a pardon after cooperating with investigators.
Tribunal Ruling and Charges
The verdict was issued by a panel led by Justice Mortuza Majumder, which held that the three defendants acted together to carry out violent attacks on protestors across the country. Mamun avoided punishment after admitting his involvement and offering an apology to both the court and the public.
According to the tribunal, the government escalated tensions by refusing to address student demands, and Hasina’s comments labeling students as Razakars intensified public anger. Judges concluded that she subsequently ordered security forces to take action against demonstrators.
Witnesses told the tribunal that groups linked to the Awami League — including the Chhatra League and Yuva League — participated in assaults on Dhaka University students. The tribunal reported that, “Sheikh Hasina ordered law enforcement agencies to use drones to locate congregating protesters and helicopters and lethal weapons to kill them.”
Hasina was found guilty on three charges: incitement, ordering killings, and failing to stop violence. Judge Golam Mortuza Mozumder stated, “We have decided to inflict her with only one sentence — that is, the sentence of death.”
She, Kamal, and Mamun faced five total charges, including murder, attempted murder, torture, and other inhumane acts. A major allegation claimed Hasina ordered the “extermination” of protestors. A United Nations report estimated that up to 1,400 people were killed between July 15 and August 15 during the period referred to as the “July Uprising.”
Hasina in Exile
Hasina has remained in India and has not returned to face the tribunal. Bangladesh’s interim government, led by Muhammad Yunus, has requested that India extradite her, though there has been no official response.
Security in Bangladesh was heightened ahead of the verdict. The Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner issued shoot-on-sight orders against anyone involved in violence. Army units, border guards, and riot police were deployed across the capital, and public spaces emptied as residents braced for possible unrest.
