Dhaka, August 4, 2025 — Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) has opened the trial of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in absentia, accusing her of crimes against humanity in connection with last year’s brutal crackdown on student-led protests.
In the courtroom on Sunday, Chief Prosecutor Tajul Islam described Hasina as the “nucleus of all crimes” and urged the tribunal to impose the maximum sentence. The charges stem from the violent suppression of the Students Against Discrimination (SAD) movement, which culminated in Hasina’s ousting from office on August 5, 2024.
Alongside Hasina, the tribunal has named her former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and former police chief Chowdhury Abdullaah Al Mamun as co-accused. While Hasina and Kamal are both being tried in absentia — reportedly residing in India — Mamun is in custody and has agreed to become an approver in the case.
Prosecutors say they will present testimonies from victims and eyewitnesses of last year’s violence, during which an estimated 1,400 people were killed between July 15 and August 15. The crackdown followed weeks of student-led unrest that gripped the country and ultimately dismantled Hasina’s long-standing Awami League government.
This is not the only legal trouble facing the 77-year-old political veteran. Last month, the ICT sentenced Hasina to six months in prison in absentia for contempt of court — the first formal conviction against her since she fled Bangladesh. Despite the interim government’s extradition request, Indian authorities have not yet responded.
Meanwhile, on the eve of the uprising’s anniversary, political energy surged on the streets of Dhaka. The opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the student-led National Citizen Party (NCP) held parallel rallies commemorating the movement that ended Hasina’s rule. During a large gathering at Dhaka’s Central Shaheed Minar, the NCP also unveiled its 24-point manifesto.
The trial marks a watershed moment in Bangladesh’s post-Hasina era, where the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus is attempting to redefine political accountability and justice in a nation still grappling with the trauma of last year’s bloodshed.
