Bangladesh tribunal sentences former PM Sheikh Hasina to death after controversial trial

In a landmark and deeply polarising verdict, Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal on Monday sentenced ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to death, concluding a months-long trial that found her guilty of ordering a deadly crackdown on a student-led uprising last year.

The ruling marks the most dramatic legal action taken against a former Bangladeshi leader in decades and lands just months before crucial parliamentary elections expected in early February.

With Hasina’s Awami League already barred from contesting the polls, political observers warn the verdict could inflame tensions and spark renewed unrest across the country.

The tribunal, sitting under heavy security in the capital Dhaka, delivered its judgment in Hasina’s absence. The former prime minister fled to India in August 2024 as the uprising intensified and as pressure mounted on her government.

According to the court, Hasina was found guilty of crimes against humanity for her role in the violent suppression of student demonstrators. She received a life sentence on those charges, and a separate death sentence for the killing of several people during the unrest.

Witnesses inside the courtroom reported cheering and applause after the death sentence was announced — a reaction that underscored how divisive Hasina’s legacy has become since her removal from power.

Human rights groups and several international observers have sharply criticised the tribunal’s proceedings, alleging political interference and a lack of due process. The government, now led by a caretaker administration, has defended the trial as a necessary step toward accountability.

Hasina’s supporters, including senior Awami League figures now operating in exile, denounced the ruling as a politically motivated attempt to eliminate the party from Bangladesh’s political landscape ahead of the February vote.

Security forces were deployed across major cities Monday evening as authorities braced for possible demonstrations. Early reports indicated scattered protests in Dhaka and Chittagong, with police urging the public to remain calm.

The verdict leaves Bangladesh facing weeks of heightened tension as the country prepares for an election widely seen as a defining moment for its political future.