Hasina Sentenced To Death For Crimes Against Humanity

Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been sentenced to death for "crimes against humanity" committed during last year's student-led agitation that led to the fall of her Awami League government.

Hasina, who is in exile, was tried in absentia.

According to a United Nations report, up to 1,400 people may have been killed during the protests between July 15 and August 5, 2024, with thousands more injured – most of them by gunfire from security forces – in what was the worst violence in Bangladesh since its 1971 war of independence.

During the trial, prosecutors told the court they had uncovered evidence of Hasina’s direct command to use lethal force to suppress the student-led uprising.

The trial has heard months of testimony in absentia alleging she ordered mass killings. She has called the trial a "jurisprudential joke".

The International Crimes Tribunal-1 delivered its verdict today against ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, and former IGP Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun over crimes against humanity during the July–August 2024 student-led uprising

Prosecutors have presented 8,747 pages of evidence, including references, seized documents, and a detailed list of victims.

The historic verdict concludes that ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, and former IGP Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun orchestrated and enabled atrocities during the July–August 2024 student uprising, according to Dhaka Tribune, holding them responsible for the resulting killings, torture, and destruction.