Bangladesh Tribunal Orders Death Sentence For Sheikh Hasina In 2024 Protests Case

Last Updated:November 17, 2025, 14:23 IST

Sheikh Hasina has been convicted and awarded death sentence in absentia of crimes against humanity for allegedly ordering a crackdown on the 2024 student protests that ousted her.

Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was on Monday awarded a death sentence, after she was convicted of crimes against humanity for her alleged role in ordering a deadly crackdown on student-led protests that toppled her government in August 2024.

The court, as it pronounced the verdict, said Sheikh Hasina incited attacks on students.

The verdict, delivered in absentia, marks a dramatic escalation in the country’s political turmoil ahead of national elections expected in February 2026.

According to the court, the 453-page judgment, divided into six parts, lays out in detail how the tribunal, which it said is “at par with other international tribunals", reached its decision.

Judges took nearly 40 minutes to dictate and explain the verdict, including the legal basis for why an international-standard tribunal has the authority to issue the ruling.

The court held that there were “sufficient grounds for framing charges" against the accused.

SHEIKH HASINA CONVICTED: WHAT DID THE BANGLADESH COURT SAY

In its pronouncement, the tribunal said Sheikh Hasina committed crimes against humanity, citing multiple instances where she allegedly –

Incited violence and ordered the killing of students, including at a July 14 press conference where she made derogatory remarks about descendants of freedom fighters and Razakars, which the court said helped fuel attacks.Directed the Vice-President of a university, in a telephonic conversation referenced by the court, to “hang the protestors", an order that was allegedly carried out. The court also noted that Hasina’s conversation was genuine and not AI-generated, as confirmed in forensic tests.Ordered helicopters to fire on students, and instructed security forces to torture demonstrators.Told the Mayor of Dhaka South on July 18 to kill armed civilian protestors and authorised the deployment of drones and helicopters that used lethal force.Ordered mass arrests of protestors.

The tribunal said all three accused, Hasina, former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, and former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, committed crimes against humanity.

Testimonies and videos seized from various sources were played in court, showing police firing on students and injured protestors with severe head wounds.

Judges cited accounts that many hospitalised victims “did not have skulls due to the torture," adding that police and Awami League leaders allegedly blocked access to medical care.

The court also referred to Hasina’s past political conduct, noting allegations of electoral manipulation, including claims that ballot boxes were filled the night before the 2018 election.

Prosecutors described the Awami League as a “fascist party", comments that were taken on record.

While Hasina’s lawyers argued that no drones or helicopters were used, and insisted she was innocent, the tribunal said it had considered both sides but found the defence unconvincing, stating Hasina continued making “hate speeches on social media" despite being instructed to refrain.

THE SHEIKH HASINA CASE IN BANGLADESH COURT

Hasina, 78, has been living in India since fleeing Dhaka during the uprising. She defied repeated court orders to return and attend the trial, which she has called a “jurisprudential joke".

Prosecutors had filed five charges against her, including failure to prevent murder, with the court ruling that the large-scale killings during the protests amounted to crimes against humanity under Bangladeshi law.

The United Nations has said up to 1,400 people were killed as security forces moved against demonstrators.

Her co-accused include Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, also a fugitive, and Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, who is in custody and has pleaded guilty.

The verdict comes amid a tense security situation in Dhaka, where authorities have deployed armoured vehicles, set up checkpoints and placed nearly half the city’s 34,000-strong police force on duty.

A string of crude bomb attacks in recent weeks has added to fears of renewed violence as interim leader Muhammad Yunus’s government struggles with instability.

In October, Hasina had told AFP that a conviction was “preordained".

She had also warned that the interim government’s ban on her Awami League was deepening Bangladesh’s political crisis.

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