DHAKA (Realist English). Bangladesh’s former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who was removed from power during last year’s mass unrest, has been sentenced to death after a Dhaka tribunal found her guilty of crimes against humanity linked to a brutal crackdown on a nationwide student-led uprising.
Hasina, 78, was tried in absentia by the International Crimes Tribunal — the country’s domestic war-crimes court — after she fled to India in August 2024 at the height of the protests, ending her 15-year rule. The UN has said as many as 1,400 people may have been killed in the violence, while officials from the interim government reported more than 800 dead and 14,000 injured.
Students initially protested over government job quotas, but clashes with police and ruling-party activists rapidly escalated. The court said it heard recordings in which Hasina ordered security forces to drop explosive devices from helicopters and authorised the use of lethal weapons, including shotguns at close range.
In a four-hour verdict delivered under tight security and broadcast live, the tribunal imposed a life sentence for crimes against humanity and a death sentence for killings during the uprising. The packed courtroom erupted in applause as the ruling was read.
Hasina rejected the judgment as “biased and politically motivated,” saying she would face her accusers “in a proper tribunal where evidence can be weighed fairly.”
The tribunal also sentenced former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan, now also in India, to death. A former police chief who cooperated with prosecutors received a five-year sentence.
The ruling marks the most consequential legal action against a Bangladeshi leader since independence in 1971 and comes ahead of parliamentary elections expected in February.
Bangladesh has asked India to extradite Hasina under an existing bilateral treaty. Security forces have been deployed across Dhaka and other cities amid fears of unrest. Hasina’s Awami League has called for a nationwide shutdown in protest.
In recent days, authorities recorded at least 30 crude bomb attacks and dozens of arson incidents involving vehicles. The interim government warned it will respond “strictly” to any attempts to create disorder.
Hasina is the daughter of Bangladesh’s founding leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the aunt of former UK Treasury minister Tulip Siddiq, who resigned earlier this year amid scrutiny of her family ties. Siddiq has denied allegations of corruption in Bangladesh, calling them “a farce.”
The Supreme Court is expected to hear any appeals, though the timeline remains uncertain amid the volatile political climate.
