Bangladesh’s ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan were sentenced to death Monday for their roles in the violent crackdown on a student-led uprising last year that left hundreds dead and ended Hasina’s 15-year tenure in office. The International Crimes Tribunal in Dhaka handed down the sentences for crimes against humanity, citing the use of deadly force against protesters. Both Hasina and Khan had fled to India in 2024, and India has so far refused to extradite them, making the likelihood of execution highly improbable.
A third individual, a former police chief, received a five-year prison sentence after agreeing to testify against Hasina and pleading guilty. The tribunal’s ruling focused on events during July and August 2024, when a student-led uprising escalated into widespread unrest. Bangladesh’s interim government reported that more than 800 people were killed and around 14,000 injured, though the United Nations estimated in February that fatalities could have reached 1,400.
Hasina Responds to Verdict
Sheikh Hasina rejected the charges, asserting that she and Khan “acted in good faith and were trying to minimize the loss of life.” In a statement released Monday, she said, “We lost control of the situation, but to characterize what happened as a premeditated assault on citizens is simply to misread the facts.” She added, “I mourn all of the deaths that occurred in July and August of last year, on both sides of the political divide. But neither I nor other political leaders ordered the killing of protesters.” At 78 years old, Hasina cannot appeal the verdict unless she is arrested or surrenders within 30 days.
Bangladesh continues to experience political instability following Hasina’s removal from office on August 5, 2024. Three days later, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus took control of an interim government and vowed to hold Hasina accountable. He also banned the activities of her Awami League party ahead of elections scheduled for February. The ruling was announced live by a three-member tribunal led by Justice Golam Mortuza Mozumder, with parts of the courtroom erupting in cheers, which Mozumder instructed the audience to contain outside the courtroom. Families of those killed or injured waited for hours outside the tribunal.
