Ex-Bangladesh Prime Minister sentenced to death

A Bangladesh war crimes court has sentenced ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to death, concluding a trial that found her guilty of ordering a lethal crackdown on a student-led uprising last year.

The International Crimes Tribunal, Bangladesh’s domestic war crimes court based in Dhaka, delivered the verdict under heavy security and in Hasina’s absence, as she fled to India in August 2024.

She received a life sentence for crimes against humanity and a death sentence for the killing of several people during the uprising, met with cheering and clapping in the courtroom.

A United Nations report estimated that up to 1,400 people were killed and thousands more injured, most by gunfire from security forces, between July 15 and August 5, 2024.

This made it the deadliest unrest in Bangladesh since the 1971 war of independence.

The decision can be appealed in the Supreme Court. However, Hasina’s son and adviser, Sajeeb Wazed, told Reuters a day before the ruling that they would not file an appeal.

That is unless a democratically elected government took office with the Awami League’s participation.

The ruling marks the most dramatic legal action against a former Bangladeshi leader in decades and comes just months before parliamentary elections expected in early February.

Hasina’s Awami League has been barred from contesting the polls, and Monday’s judgment has raised fears of renewed unrest ahead of the vote.

Bangladesh turmoil

During the trial, prosecutors said they had uncovered evidence that Hasina directly ordered the use of lethal force to quash a student-led movement in July and August 2024.

Hasina was represented by a state-appointed defence lawyer, who argued the charges were unfounded and urged the court to acquit her.

Before the verdict, Hasina rejected both the allegations and the integrity of the Tribunal, claiming a guilty outcome was “a foregone conclusion.”

Tensions had mounted nationwide in the days leading up to the ruling, with at least 30 crude bomb blasts and 26 vehicles set alight. No casualties were reported.

Hasina, 78, who has remained in India since her overthrow in August 2024, questioned the Tribunal’s legitimacy in an email interview with Reuters last month.

She described the proceedings as “politically motivated,” calling the courts “kangaroo courts” run by an unelected government composed of her rivals.

Hasina alleged that she had not been given adequate notice of hearings or a fair chance to mount a defence, and denied involvement in the use of deadly force or any other alleged crimes.