Bangladesh Court Sentences Former PM Sheikh Hasina to Death Amid Political Turmoil

A Bangladesh court on Monday sentenced former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to death for crimes against humanity, prompting cheers in a packed courtroom as the verdict was read.

Hasina, 78, had defied court orders to return from India to attend her trial, which focused on whether she had ordered a deadly crackdown on a student-led uprising that led to her removal in August 2024. The ruling, broadcast live on national television, comes ahead of Bangladesh’s first elections since her ouster, scheduled for February 2026.

Judge Golam Mortuza Mozumder said all elements constituting crimes against humanity had been fulfilled, finding Hasina guilty on three counts: incitement, ordering killings, and failing to prevent atrocities. “We have decided to inflict her with only one sentence — that is, a sentence of death,” he declared.

Former Interior Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, also a fugitive, was sentenced to death on four counts of crimes against humanity, while former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, who pleaded guilty, received a five-year prison sentence.

Bangladesh has experienced political instability since Hasina’s removal, with violent incidents affecting the lead-up to the elections. According to the United Nations, up to 1,400 people were killed in crackdowns during her final days in power, central to the trial’s charges.

Chief prosecutor Tajul Islam said he hoped the verdict would fulfill the public’s “thirst for justice” and bring an end to crimes against humanity. Prosecutors had filed five charges, including failure to prevent murder.

The trial, largely held in absentia, heard months of testimony alleging Hasina ordered mass killings. She called the proceedings a “jurisprudential joke,” refused to recognize the court, and rejected her state-appointed lawyer. In October, she told AFP that a guilty verdict was “preordained” and she would “not be surprised when it comes.”

Security in Dhaka was tightened ahead of the ruling, with armored vehicles and checkpoints deployed throughout the city. Nearly half of the capital’s 34,000 police officers were on duty following a spate of petrol bomb attacks targeting government buildings, buses, and religious sites.

Bangladesh’s foreign ministry summoned India’s envoy, demanding that New Delhi prevent Hasina from speaking to journalists or using media platforms to “spread hatred.”

Despite the sentence, Hasina remains defiant, expressing mourning for lives lost during the crackdown while criticizing the interim government’s ban on her party, the Awami League, warning that it is deepening the nation’s political crisis ahead of elections in the country of 170 million.