Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal on Monday (October 17) sentenced ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to death in absentia for crimes against humanity committed during her government's violent suppression of a student-led uprising in 2024.

The verdict, delivered by a three-member panel headed by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder, marks the first time a former head of government in Bangladesh has received the death penalty. The court also sentenced Ms. Hasina's former home minister, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, to death. He is also in exile and was tried in absentia.

A third suspect, former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, pleaded guilty and turned state witness. The tribunal handed him a reduced sentence of five years in prison.

The charges stem from the deadly crackdown on the "July Uprising," a mass student-led movement that ultimately led to the collapse of Ms. Hasina's 15-year rule in August 2024. Following her ouster, she fled the country and is widely reported to be in neighboring India.

The tribunal that issued the sentence is the same one Ms. Hasina's own Awami League government established to prosecute war crimes dating back to Bangladesh's 1971 war of independence. During her time in power, the court sentenced several opposition leaders to death.

Security was tightened across the capital, Dhaka, in anticipation of the verdict. Ms. Hasina and her Awami League party, which has been banned, have previously denounced the trial as politically motivated.

BOB Post