Trendpills
A special tribunal in Bangladesh has sentenced former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to death, finding her guilty of crimes against humanity. The verdict, delivered on November 17, was issued in absentia as Hasina has been living in exile in India since she was ousted from power in August 2024 following a massive student-led uprising.
The International Crimes Tribunal in Dhaka also handed down death sentences to two of her top aides: former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and then-police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun. The charges against them included abetment, complicity, and failure to prevent mass murder and torture. Prosecutors argued that Hasina and her associates were responsible for ordering a violent crackdown on protesters, which resulted in hundreds of deaths.
The unrest began in July 2024 as a student movement against a government job quota system. The protests quickly escalated into a nationwide movement demanding an end to what demonstrators called Hasina's increasingly authoritarian 15-year rule. The tribunal's decision marks the culmination of a trial held in absentia, a process initiated by the interim government that took power after her departure.
From her exile in India, Sheikh Hasina has consistently denied all allegations. In a recent interview, she maintained her innocence regarding the charges of crimes against humanity, and her supporters have condemned the trial as politically motivated and lacking due process. Her defense team has announced its intention to appeal the verdict. The sentence against Bangladesh's longest-serving prime minister has drawn significant attention both domestically and internationally.
The case focused on the government's deadly response to student protests, with the prosecution successfully arguing that security forces, acting on high-level orders, used excessive and lethal force against unarmed civilians. The verdict is a pivotal moment in Bangladesh's political landscape, signaling a clear break from Hasina's long tenure, which began with her image as a pro-democracy icon but ended with widespread accusations of autocracy.
