Dhaka : A Bangladesh court has sentenced former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to death following a lengthy trial, accusing her of ordering a violent crackdown on student-led protests in 2024. The verdict was issued by the International Crimes Tribunal, Bangladesh’s domestic war crimes court, under heavy security on Monday.
Sheikh Hasina, who has been in exile in India since August 2024, was not present in the courtroom. Her conviction is subject to appeal, and her legal team has indicated that they will refrain from challenging the verdict unless a new, freely elected government is formed that includes her Awami League party.
The trial focused on accusations that Hasina directly commanded security forces to use deadly force to suppress the student protests that broke out in July 2024 and continued into August. The protests, which were met with a brutal response from the state, resulted in widespread violence, with an estimated 1,400 deaths and thousands of injuries, according to a United Nations report.
Hasina’s defense team dismissed the charges as baseless, while the former Prime Minister rejected both the allegations and the trial itself, calling the process politically motivated and predetermined.
Tensions have escalated across Bangladesh in the lead-up to the ruling, with authorities reporting at least 30 bomb explosions and 26 vehicles set on fire in the days prior to the verdict. The timing of the judgment, just months before Bangladesh’s parliamentary elections in February 2025, has raised concerns about the potential for further instability in the country.
