Bangladesh’s deposed prime minister, Sheikh Hasina Wajid, has been sentenced to death for crimes against humanity linked to last year’s July uprising as she was found guilty of brutal killings of democratic protestors.
The politician fled the country to escape public anger after a violent crackdown on protestors and has lived in India since then. The revolt, led by Bangladeshi youth, represented a major turn for the country after years of discontent and disillusionment with the Hasina Waji’s government.
A key member of her government, former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal was also handed the death penalty by the court while former inspector general of police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun—who turned state witness—received a five-year prison sentence.
According to The Star newspaper, the court additionally ordered the confiscation of properties owned by Hasina and Asaduzzaman in favor of the state
The three-member International Crimes Tribunal, headed by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder, began reading excerpts from the 453-page judgment Monday noon, amid heavy security and a packed courtroom.
While Asaduzzaman remains a fugitive. Mamun, who is in custody and has pleaded guilty, is the first accused to become a state witness since the tribunal’s establishment in 2010.
Hasina, 78, has defied tribunal orders to return from India to stand court trial on allegations that she ordered a violent crackdown on the student-led uprising that toppled her government on August 5 last year.
Bangladesh Interim Govt asks Indian Govt to immediately hand over Former PM Sheikh Hasina to Dhaka.
What will Bangladesh do if India refuses to send her back ? https://t.co/uybR6xseTw pic.twitter.com/INlucsdTGg
— War & Gore (@Goreunit) November 17, 2025
Bangladesh is now headed by Dr Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel Prize winning microfinance pioneer, who is pursuing a reformist agenda to run the country in accordance with aspirations of the people and realize economic opportunities for its large youth population.
In the case against Hasina Wajid and her cohorts, prosecutors filed five charges including failure to prevent murder—offenses qualifying as crimes against humanity under Bangladeshi law.
They sought the death penalty if the defendants were found guilty and also requested that their assets be seized and distributed to victims’ families.
The defense, however, expressed hope for acquittal, and Hasina has denied all charges.
This case marks the tribunal’s first verdict relating to alleged atrocities committed during the uprising.
However, Monday’s sentencing does not mark end of the story for Hasina Wajid’s brutal crackdown.
She is also facing three other cases before the ICT—two concerning enforced disappearances and one related to alleged mass killings at Motijheel’s Shapla Chattar in 2013.
Kamal is also facing two enforced disappearance cases.
This year a court sentenced Hasina to six months’ simple imprisonment for contempt of court over remarks made during a phone conversation with a local leader about the tribunal. The tribune heard testimony for months, alleging she ordered mass killing.
Muhammad Luqman is Associate Editor at Views News Now. He writes on wide-ranging issues including economy, South Asia, the Middle East, agriculture, economy and innovation. Luqman has worked some of the leading news organizations and won acclaim for his original and research-based works.
