Bangladesh Ex-PM Sheikh Hasina Gets Death Sentence For Crimes Against Humanity

Bangladesh's ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been sentenced to death by a Bangladesh court, on Monday. A three-judge panel of the International Crimes Tribunal, Bangladesh’s domestic war-crimes court, ruled that she was responsible for inciting hundreds of extrajudicial killings carried out by law enforcement.

Hasina, removed from power last year, was convicted for crimes against humanity related to the violent suppression of student protests that triggered the collapse of her government.

“Sheikh Hasina committed crimes against humanity by her incitement, order and failure to take punitive measures,” one of the judges said while announcing the verdict.

The judges added it was “crystal clear” that she had “expressed her incitement to the activists of her party… and furthermore, she expressed that she ordered to kill and eliminate the protesting students.”

The court heard that about 1,400 protesters were believed to have been killed and up to 25,000 injured during the weeks of protests in 2024.

Hasina faced five charges, largely centred on inciting the murder of protesters and ordering the use of lethal weapons, drones and helicopters to quell the unrest. She denied all charges.

Hasina remains in self-imposed exile in India, where she fled last year, and was not present in the Dhaka courtroom. Her lawyers, who last week appealed to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, criticised the trial over “serious concerns about the lack of fair trial rights and due process.”

What began as peaceful student protests over civil-service job quotas evolved into a nationwide demand for her resignation. The turning point came with a government crackdown that may have killed up to 1,400 people, according to the UN human-rights office.

Hasina has been living in New Delhi since August last year, after student demonstrators forced her and the Awami League out of power. The interim Bangladeshi government has formally sought her extradition, but New Delhi has yet to respond to the request.