Ousted Bangladeshi leader Sheikh Hasina has been sentenced to death for crimes against humanity over last year’s student-led uprising, after a special International Crimes Tribunal in Dhaka convicted her of ordering and inciting a deadly crackdown.
Former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal received the same sentence in absentia, while former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun was jailed for five years after cooperating with prosecutors and testifying for the state, the court said. Judges delivered a 453-page verdict in six parts, finding the three responsible for murder, attempted murder, conspiracy and persecution of civilians.
According to BBC Hindi, prosecutors said that at least 1,400 people were killed and about 25,000 were hurt during the crackdown on the quota reform movement and other protests against the government in July and August 2024. The charge sheet includes accusations that security forces shot and burned protesters in Ashulia, and that a student at Begum Rokeya University and at least six people at Dhaka’s Chankhar Pul were killed without provocation.
Prosecutors also talked about a news conference on July 14, 2024, when Hasina, who was then prime minister, called the protesting students “grandchildren of Razakars.” In a country where “Razakar” means “traitor,” this phrase is widely seen as provocation.
Hasina, who is in exile in India, called the finding “rigged” and said it was made by a court without a democratic mandate. She also said that the tribunal was unfairly targeting Awami League members while disregarding violence by the opposition.
In a statement on X, Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the International Crimes Tribunal had found “fugitive” Sheikh Hasina and Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal guilty of crimes against humanity, and warned that any country granting them refuge would be treated as acting in a hostile manner and undermining justice. The ministry urged India to hand both over under the bilateral extradition treaty.
Responding in a separate statement, India’s Ministry of External Affairs said New Delhi had “noted” the verdict and, as a close neighbour, remained committed to “the best interests of the people of Bangladesh, including in peace, democracy.”
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