Hasina deserves 1,400 death sentences, seeking just one: Bangladesh prosecutor

New Delhi,UPDATED: Oct 16, 2025 19:04 IST

The chief prosecutor, presenting arguments before the Crimes Tribunal-1, on Thursday sought the death penalty for ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for deaths during the uprising in July-August last year. The prosecution said Hasina, who is currently in India, deserved "1,400 death sentences" for the killings.

Former inspector general of police (IGP) Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun has already admitted to the allegations of killings and mass murder during the last few weeks of the Hasina regime.

Around 1,400 people were allegedly killed in Bangladesh in July and August last year as a students' protest against quota in jobs turned into a movement against the Sheikh Hasina regime.

The protests, being infiltrated by fundamentalist and political forces, turned violent and police had to use force to fight back. It has been alleged that disproportionate force was used and mass murder took place in those few weeks.

As the mass protests turned Bangladesh into a war zone, Bangladesh Army Chief Waker-Uz-Zaman advised Hasina to leave the country. On August 5, 2024, Hasina left Dhaka, and has been in exile in India since then.

On Thursday, chief prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam concluded the prosecution's case after five days of arguments and sought capital punishment for Hasina and two others, including former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, according to the Dhaka Tribune.

Tajul Islam called Hasina the "mastermind and principal architect" behind the "crimes against humanity" committed last year.

"If each of the 1,400 murders carried out under her direction were to be punished separately, she should face 1,400 death sentences. But since that is not humanly possible, at least a single death sentence is essential. Otherwise, it would be an injustice," he told the court," he was quoted as saying by The Daily Star.

Tajul alleged that Hasina, Kamal and Al-Mamun, orchestrated the crimes in a "premeditated and systematic" manner.

"Hasina, from the top of the command structure, personally ordered the killings," said the chief prosecutor, adding that her phone conversations, instructions, and other evidence revealed how she acted in a vindictive and vengeful manner.

The chief prosecutor said former IGP Al-Mamun had cooperated with the tribunal by providing information that helped expose enforced disappearances, according to The Daily Star.

Al-Mamun had on July 10 admitted to his role in the "crimes" committed during the students' uprising.

"The allegations of killings and mass murder brought against us during the July-August movement are true," he told the tribunal, according to the Dhaka Tribune.

For the former home minister, the special prosecutor said that the "massacre was planned at his residence". "He personally visited crime scenes to ensure killings were executed properly," he said.

For nearly a month, the tribunal has heard testimonies and cross-examinations of 54 witnesses, including Md Alamgir, the chief investigation officer and a key prosecution witness.

State-appointed lawyer Md Amir Hossain, who is representing Hasina and Kamal, rejected Alamgir's account, arguing that law enforcement officers were forced to open fire in response to violent actions by protesters.

- Ends