A special tribunal court in Bangladesh, on Monday has convicted Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina guilty of crimes against humanity, imposing the maximum penalty of death for her. She is accused of orchestration of a brutal suppression of mass demonstrations that toppled her government just over a year ago. The decision, handed down in absentia, also condemns one of her key aides to the same fate, marking a pivotal moment in the nation's recent turbulent history.
The International Crimes Tribunal, a domestic body established to address grave human rights violations, announced the verdict months of intense proceedings. A three-judge panel, led by Justice Golam Mortuza Mozumder, declared Hasina, 78, guilty on multiple counts related to the violent response to the 2024 uprising. Her co-defendant, former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, received an identical death sentence for his “direct involvement in executing the orders” that led to widespread bloodshed.
The charges stem from the harrowing events of last summer, when what began as a student-driven movement against job quotas and deepening authoritarianism exploded into a full-scale revolution. Dubbed the "July Revolution" by activists, the protests - initially peaceful, demanded an end to Hasina's 15-year grip on power, which critics lambasted as increasingly repressive, marked by media censorship, extrajudicial killings, and rigged elections. By early August 2024, the demonstrations had paralysed Dhaka and other cities, drawing millions into the streets.
Hasina's administration responded with overwhelming force. Security forces, under directives from the highest levels, unleashed a torrent of live ammunition, tear gas, and even helicopter gunfire on unarmed crowds. Human rights monitors, including the United Nations, later documented at least 1,400 deaths - many of them young students and bystanders, alongside thousands injured and hundreds subjected to torture and arbitrary arrests. The tribunal's 500-page judgment outlined Hasina's personal culpability, citing evidence such as intercepted communications, witness testimonies from survivors, and forensic reports that traced orders for the crackdown directly to her office.
"The accused, as the head of government, bears ultimate responsibility for these atrocities," Justice Mozumder stated in court, his voice steady amid audible sobs from victims' families packed into the gallery. "These acts of murder, extermination through mass killings, systematic torture, and other degrading treatments constitute crimes against humanity, warranting the severest retribution."
Hasina, who has resided in self-imposed exile in neighbouring India since her dramatic helicopter escape from Dhaka on August 5, 2024, was not present for the trial. Surrounded by her family and loyalists in a secure location near New Delhi, reportedly under informal Indian government protection - she has repeatedly dismissed the proceedings as a "witch hunt" orchestrated by her political rivals. In a pre-recorded audio statement released hours before the verdict, the erstwhile leader remained unyielding: "They can issue their rulings from afar, but justice is in the hands of the divine. My commitment to Bangladesh endures, no matter the chains they seek to forge."
The conviction extends beyond Hasina and Khan. The tribunal's probe implicated a broader network, though sentences for lower-ranking officials are pending in related cases. Among the evidence presented were chilling accounts of "death squads" deployed to hunt protesters, with Khan accused of coordinating logistics for the assaults. Prosecutors hailed the outcome as a "turning point," fulfilling a central pledge of the interim administration headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, who assumed leadership in the revolution's aftermath.
Yet the ruling's enforcement remains uncertain. Bangladesh has formally requested Hasina's extradition from India multiple times, but New Delhi - citing longstanding diplomatic ties and Hasina's role as a counterweight to regional Islamist influences, has rebuffed the appeals. Legal experts anticipate appeals could drag on for years, potentially escalating tensions between the two neighbours.
