Bangladesh tribunal to deliver verdict against ousted PM Hasina
Verdict to address crimes against humanity charges tied to July uprising crackdown as Hasina and ex-security chiefs face accountability test
DHAKA, Bangladesh (MNTV) — Bangladesh’s international crimes court will issue a verdict on November 17 in a landmark case charging ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and two former senior officials with crimes against humanity committed during last year’s July uprising.
The ruling will mark one of the most consequential moments in the country’s political history. Hasina, whose authoritarian rule collapsed amid mass protests and violent clashes in mid-2024, is being tried in absentia.
She is accused of authorizing lethal force, sanctioning mass detentions, and overseeing a security crackdown that left dozens dead and triggered a nationwide revolt that ultimately forced her from office.
The three-judge panel of the International Crimes Tribunal confirmed the verdict date after months of hearings, witness examinations, and procedural challenges.
The case also names former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun — two of the most powerful figures in Hasina’s security apparatus.
Al-Mamun, already in custody, testified as a state witness, admitting his role in the crackdown and implicating the former prime minister and home minister.
Prosecutors allege that state forces under Hasina’s command used live ammunition against protesters, carried out targeted killings, and engaged in systematic cover-ups, including the burning of bodies in the outskirts of Dhaka.
The charges stem from a massive investigation that compiled thousands of pages of forensic documentation, testimony from survivors, and material evidence collected from multiple districts.
Hasina and Kamal fled the country shortly after the uprising toppled the government. In June, the tribunal issued public notices ordering both to surrender. When they failed to appear, judges confirmed the trial would proceed in absentia under emergency provisions of the war-crimes statute.
The July 2024 uprising erupted after years of mounting anger over Hasina’s increasingly authoritarian governance, widespread allegations of enforced disappearances, and accusations that her administration weaponized police and intelligence agencies against political opponents.
The violent suppression of demonstrations accelerated her downfall and led to the interim government’s promise to pursue accountability for abuses committed during her tenure.
The tribunal has heard testimony from more than 50 witnesses, including survivors of shootings, relatives of those killed, and investigators who examined alleged torture sites. The closing arguments concluded last month, during which prosecutors said the case demonstrated how a democratically elected leader allowed the state to “drift into a machinery of repression.”
With the verdict now days away, Bangladesh faces a defining test of its post-Hasina transition. The ruling could set a precedent for prosecuting state-led atrocities in South Asia — and determine how the nation confronts the legacy of a regime accused of using authoritarian power to silence dissent.
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