NEW DELHI: A tribunal in Bangladesh sentenced former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to the death penalty for crimes against humanity related ...
NEW DELHI: A tribunal in Bangladesh sentenced former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to the death penalty for crimes against humanity related to a crackdown on mass protests last year, according to a BTV broadcast from the court on Monday.
The International Crimes Tribunal found Hasina guilty on all five counts of crimes against humanity.
Hasina was tried alongside her ex-interior minister, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, who also received a death sentence, and former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, who was sentenced to five years behind bars. The former agreed to cooperate with the investigation and pleaded guilty. Among those tried, only Al-Mamun was present for sentencing.
Hasina, who fled to India following riots in August 2024, was tried in absentia. Under Bangladeshi law, she cannot appeal the verdict unless she is arrested or surrenders to police within 30 days.
The ex-premier has repeatedly stated in media interviews that she had never issued orders to kill protesters and that it was Muhammad Yunus, who led the provisional government after she resigned, that gave the go-ahead to do that.
Anti-government protests swept the South Asian country in July 2024, when students, dissatisfied with high unemployment rates and a lack of economic prospects, spearheaded riots. Some 1,400 people were killed in unrest and clashes with police. Hasina resigned from her position and fled to India aboard a helicopter on August 5, 2024.
Bangladesh is slated to hold a parliamentary election in February 2026.
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