Dhaka: In a dramatic and far-reaching verdict, a Bangladeshi international crimes tribunal has sentenced former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to death, finding her guilty of ordering a brutal crackdown on student protesters that toppled her government in 2024. The court convicted her on three counts, including instigating violence, directing killings, and failing to stop mass atrocities.
A three‑judge panel, led by Justice Mohd Golam Mortuza Majumder, also held Hasina’s former home minister, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, responsible for the same charges. The tribunal initially charged Chowdhury Abdullah Al‑Mamun, a former police chief, as well, but granted him a reprieve after he cooperated fully, apologizing to both the court and the people.
According to the ruling, Hasina and her associates conspired with various government wings to deploy lethal force against students. The court said Hasina dismissed the demonstrators, calling them “Razakars” — a derogatory term — and ordered security forces to use drones, helicopters, and other heavy weapons to locate and kill protesters.
The judges pointed to testimony that Awami League‑linked youth organizations, including the Chhatra League and Yuva League, took part in the violence. They held Kamal and Mamun complicit for facilitating the use of such force. Court documents claim Hasina’s directives triggered a widespread campaign of killings, with helicopters and drones deployed to track and eliminate demonstrators.
During the trial, Mamun turned approver—the tribunal offered him leniency in exchange for his full disclosure of the events. As for Hasina and Kamal, their absence from court (the two are now fugitives, believed to be in India) was cited by the judges as evidence of their guilt.
Delivering the judgment, Justice Majumder said Hasina “will face only one punishment: death.” She and Kamal were convicted under a total of five charges, including murder, attempted murder, torture, and other inhumane acts.
Prosecutors framed Hasina as the “mastermind and principal architect” of the 2024 crackdown. A United Nations rights office report estimates that up to 1,400 people died during the “July Uprising” between July 15 and August 15 of that year.
Currently, the 78‑year-old Hasina is in exile in India after refusing to return to Bangladesh for her trial. Her supporters strongly deny the tribunal’s accusations, calling them politically motivated. Kamal is also believed to have fled abroad.
Efforts by Bangladesh’s interim government, under Muhammad Yunus, to secure Hasina’s extradition have so far not succeeded; Indian officials have yet to respond.
Tensions across Bangladesh remain high following the ruling. Security has been dramatically stepped up in Dhaka ahead of the verdict, with riot police, army troops, and border guard forces deployed around the tribunal. The Awami League, now disbanded, had earlier announced a two-day shutdown in protest. Authorities reportedly gave “shoot-on-sight” orders to prevent possible unrest.
The tribunal’s sentence marks a historic and deeply polarizing moment in Bangladesh’s political narrative — one likely to reverberate across the country for months to come.
