'Committed crime against humanity': Bangladesh court sentences deposed PM Sheikh Hasina to death

Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was on Monday sentenced to death by Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT-BD) after being tried in absentia over alleged crimes against humanity committed during last year’s student-led agitation that led to the fall of her Awami League government.

The ruling comes months ahead of parliamentary elections expected to be held in early February. The maximum punishment under the law that governs the tribunal is the death penalty.

Hasina's Awami League party has been barred from contesting and it is feared that Monday's verdict could stoke fresh unrest ahead of the vote.

The International Crimes Tribunal, Bangladesh's domestic war crimes court located in the capital Dhaka, delivered the guilty verdict amid tight security and in Hasina’s absence after she fled to India in August 2024.

The verdict can be appealed in the Supreme Court.

But Hasina's son and adviser, Sajeeb Wazed, told Reuters on the eve of the verdict that they would not appeal unless a democratically elected government took office with the Awami League’s participation.

Hasina, who is in India since August 2024, had urged party supporters to continue protests despite a government in an emotional audio posted by the Awami League on Sunday.

"There is nothing to be afraid of. I am alive. I will live. I will support the people of the country," she said.

The Awami League also called for a nationwide shutdown on Monday in protest against what it described as a politically motivated trial.

"We have given a call for protest I hope that the people of Bangladesh will fulfil this program and show these usurers, murderers, militants, Yunus and those who are with him," she said.

"Awami League will not be allowed to do politics But it is not that simple. This Awami League was built from the soil of the people. Its roots are very deep."

Further, the 78-year-old ousted Prime Minister, who faces charges of crimes against humanity, has dismissed the charges as fabricated and refused to appoint a lawyer.

"You know that all the charges brought by the Chief Prosecutor are false," she said, accusing the ICT of violating the 1973 law governing war-crimes trials.

She called the tribunal a “kangaroo court” and accused head of the interim government, Muhammad Yunus of forcibly removing elected representatives from power.

"I did not order anyone to be killed. The orders came from Dr Muhammad Yunus," she said.

Dhaka on high alert

Ahead of the verdict, two crude bombs exploded outside the residence of Syeda Rizwana Hasan, an interim government adviser, around 9 pm on Sunday. Another explosion was reported in the Karwan Bazar area. No casualties were reported.

Security was tightened across Bangladesh ahead of a tribunal verdict on Monday, with the police in the capital Dhaka issuing shoot-at-sight order against violent protesters.

With agency inputs