Dhaka, Bangladesh – November 17, 2025 – In a seismic development that has reverberated across South Asia, Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) has convicted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of crimes against humanity and sentenced her to death for orchestrating a brutal crackdown on student-led protests that ultimately toppled her 15-year authoritarian rule last year. The verdict, delivered in absentia by a three-judge bench in Dhaka, marks the first time a former head of state in Bangladesh has been held accountable under the country's war crimes framework for post-independence atrocities. Hasina, now 78 and living in exile in India, faces execution by hanging on two of the five charges, with an additional life sentence on a third, intensifying fears of political turmoil as the nation approaches parliamentary elections in February 2026.
The tribunal's decision culminates a high-stakes trial that began in June 2025, following Hasina's dramatic ouster on August 5, 2024, amid a nationwide uprising sparked by youth demanding reforms. What started as peaceful demonstrations against discriminatory civil service job quotas escalated into a full-throated revolution against Hasina's increasingly repressive regime. Protesters accused her government of corruption, electoral fraud, and stifling dissent through enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings. The government's response was swift and merciless: security forces, including police and paramilitary units, unleashed a torrent of violence that the United Nations Human Rights Office estimates claimed up to 1,400 lives, predominantly from gunfire, with another 25,000 injured. The court heard harrowing testimonies from survivors, including students who described being targeted by snipers, helicopters deploying tear gas and rubber bullets, and even drones used for surveillance and intimidation—tactics the judges deemed "systematic and widespread" attacks on civilians, fitting the legal definition of crimes against humanity under international law.
Presiding Judge Golam Mortuza Mozumder, reading the 1,200-page verdict in a packed courtroom under heavy security, declared it "crystal clear" that Hasina bore direct responsibility. "The accused prime minister committed crimes against humanity by her incitement, order, and failure to take punitive measures," he stated, emphasizing her role in five specific charges: inciting the murder of protesters, ordering hangings and lethal force, employing prohibited weapons like drones and helicopters, extermination through mass killings, and other inhumane acts including torture and enforced disappearances. The tribunal highlighted audio recordings and witness accounts, including from former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah al-Mamun—who pleaded guilty and turned state witness in July 2025—revealing Hasina's explicit directives to "eliminate" demonstrators. "She expressed her incitement to the activists of her party… and furthermore, she ordered to kill and eliminate the protesting students," the judges concluded, rejecting Hasina's not-guilty plea as unsubstantiated. Mamun, once a key enforcer in Hasina's administration, received a lenient five-year sentence for his cooperation, while former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal was also handed a death penalty alongside Hasina.
Hasina, daughter of Bangladesh's founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman—assassinated in a 1975 military coup that also claimed the lives of most of her family—had returned from exile in 2007 to lead the Awami League to victory in 2008. Her tenure, spanning 2009 to 2024, transformed Bangladesh into an economic powerhouse, with GDP growth averaging 6–7% annually through garment exports and infrastructure booms. Yet, it came at a steep cost: critics documented over 600 enforced disappearances, thousands of arbitrary arrests, and a media landscape crippled by draconian laws like the Digital Security Act. Hasina's iron-fisted control was epitomized by the 2018 election, marred by opposition boycotts and allegations of ballot stuffing, and the 2024 polls, boycotted by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) amid claims of a "one-party state." The student protests, ignited by a July 2024 Supreme Court decision reinstating 30% job quotas for descendants of 1971 liberation war veterans—many aligned with Hasina's party—exposed these fissures. As clashes intensified, protesters chanted "Raibad, Hasina" (Down with Hasina), drawing millions into the streets and paralyzing the capital.
The crackdown's ferocity shocked the world. On July 16, 2024, security forces fired on unarmed crowds in Dhaka's Shahbagh square, killing dozens in what became known as "Black Day." Videos showed police using live ammunition and helicopters hovering low to disperse crowds with concussive blasts. The UN's preliminary report corroborated eyewitness accounts of "indiscriminate shooting" and "helicopter gunships," estimating 1,400 deaths—a figure the tribunal adopted, noting most victims were students aged 15–25. In total, over 12,000 arrests followed, with reports of torture in custody. The violence peaked on August 4, when protesters stormed key government buildings, forcing Hasina to flee by helicopter to a military airbase before crossing into India—a nation that had long been her staunch ally, providing refuge and diplomatic cover.
Since her exile in New Delhi, Hasina has maintained a low profile, reportedly residing in a government guesthouse under tight security. Her family ties extend globally: she is the aunt of UK Labour MP Tulip Siddiq, who has faced scrutiny in Westminster over potential conflicts of interest, and her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, a US-based tech advisor, has lobbied for her cause. Hasina vehemently denies the charges, branding the ICT a "kangaroo court" orchestrated by an "unelected" interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus. In a statement released via the Awami League's social media channels post-verdict, she decried the proceedings as "biased and politically motivated," asserting, "I am not afraid to face my accusers in a proper tribunal where the evidence can be weighed and tested fairly." Her legal team appealed to the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial executions last week, citing "serious concerns about the lack of fair trial rights and due process," such as limited access to evidence and the tribunal's origins under Hasina's own 2010 legislation—ironically repurposed against her.
The ICT, established post-1971 independence to prosecute war crimes, has a controversial history. During Hasina's rule, it targeted Islamist opposition figures, drawing UN criticism for politicization. Now, under Yunus's interim administration—installed after the army backed the protesters—it symbolizes a reckoning. Chief prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam hailed the verdict as "justice for the martyrs," but human rights groups remain wary. "While accountability is essential, the death penalty risks entrenching cycles of vengeance," said Amnesty International's South Asia director, noting post-Hasina reprisals against Awami League supporters, including over 200 attacks on party offices.
Yunus's government, a technocratic coalition of students, civil society, and military, has formally requested Hasina's extradition from India since September 2024. New Delhi, citing a 2014 treaty but invoking "political persecution" clauses, has stonewalled, straining bilateral ties. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration, which viewed Hasina as a counterweight to China, faces domestic pressure from Bangladesh's 150 million people, many of whom blame India for sheltering "the butcher of Dhaka." Analysts warn the verdict could ignite fresh chaos: Awami League loyalists, numbering millions, have been banned from February's elections, potentially boycotting or resorting to violence. Clashes erupted Monday near Hasina's ancestral home in Tungipara, where protesters demanded its demolition—a site already vandalized last year. Security forces, now reformed under Yunus, deployed thousands around Dhaka's courts and ministries, with internet shutdowns in hotspot areas.
Economically, Bangladesh teeters: the 2024 unrest shaved 2% off GDP growth, exacerbating inflation and garment sector woes. Yunus, 85, pledges "free and fair" polls to restore democracy, but with BNP leader Khaleda Zia released from house arrest and student groups demanding constitutional overhaul, the path is fraught. Hasina's fall ended an era of Awami dominance but birthed uncertainty—her death sentence, if enforced, could either heal wounds or reopen them, defining Bangladesh's fragile transition.
As the gavel fell in Dhaka, global eyes turned to New Delhi and Geneva. Will India yield? Can the UN intervene? For now, the verdict stands as a stark reminder: in the world's eighth-most populous nation, the quest for justice collides with the ghosts of autocracy.
