Bangladesh tribunal sentences ex-PM Hasina to death in absentia

The former prime minister, now a fugitive in India, is convicted of crimes against humanity for last year’s deadly crackdown on student protesters

DHAKA, Bangladesh (MNTV) — Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal on Monday handed a death sentence to former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, finding her guilty of crimes against humanity for ordering a violent crackdown on student-led protests that shook the country last year. The court also directed to confiscate her property in Bangladesh.

Hasina, 78, was tried in absentia. The tribunal ruled that she was the “mastermind and principal architect” behind the 2024 uprising’s suppression, which left about 1,400 people dead and brought an abrupt end to her 15-year rule. She has lived in exile in India since her ouster in August and has not appeared in public or online.

The court also issued a death sentence for former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, while former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun received a life term. Mamun, currently in custody, pleaded guilty and turned state witness, the first accused to do so since the tribunal was created in 2010.

The three-member bench, led by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder, began reading from its 453-page judgment, its first ruling on atrocities linked to last year’s uprising. Prosecutors accused the trio of ordering and enabling mass killings, torture, disappearances, and the use of lethal force — including helicopters and drones — to disperse student protesters.

Prosecutors filed five counts covering murder, attempted murder, torture, and other inhumane acts. The charges include the killing of a student at Begum Rokeya University, the murder of six unarmed protesters in Dhaka’s Chankharpul area on August 5, and the burning of five bodies after security forces opened fire on demonstrators.

The prosecution sought the death penalty and asked the tribunal to confiscate the defendants’ assets to compensate victims’ families. The defence insisted the charges were politically driven and expressed hope for acquittal. Hasina has denied all allegations.

Her now-banned Awami League called the tribunal a “kangaroo court” and urged supporters to protest, raising fears of fresh violence.

Hasina faces three other cases at the tribunal, including two related to enforced disappearances and one linked to the 2013 killings at Shapla Chattar. Kamal is also accused in two disappearance cases.

The tribunal spent months hearing testimonies alleging that Hasina personally ordered mass killings during the 2024 unrest. Investigators submitted an 8,747-page evidence dossier, followed by a 135-page charge sheet covering witness accounts, documents, and digital material. Fifty-four of 81 listed witnesses eventually testified.

With the verdict delivered, political tensions are expected to rise. Security forces have been deployed across Dhaka as the country braces for possible protests.