DHAKA, Bangladesh \u2014 November 18, 2025.<\/strong> The three-judge panel convicted Hasina on charges including incitement<\/strong>, issuing kill orders<\/strong>, and failing to prevent mass atrocities<\/strong> carried out by security forces during the July\u2013August student-led revolt<\/strong> that ultimately toppled her government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reading the verdict, Justice Golam Mortuza Mozumder<\/strong> said Hasina had \u201cordered the use of drones, helicopters and lethal weapons\u201d<\/strong> against civilians. The UN human-rights office called the verdict \u201can important moment for victims,\u201d while reiterating its opposition to the death penalty in all circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hasina \u2014 who fled to India<\/strong> last year and has lived in exile under government protection \u2014 rejected the charges as a \u201cpolitically motivated charade\u201d<\/strong>, accusing the interim administration of staging a trial \u201cwithout democratic legitimacy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her co-accused, former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan<\/strong>, also received a death sentence. Former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah al-Mamun<\/strong>, who turned state witness and pleaded guilty, was spared the death penalty but still faces significant prison time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Families of victims openly wept in court as the ruling was read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe buried a boy, not an enemy of the state,\u201d said Golam Rahman<\/strong>, whose son was shot dead during the uprising. \u201cNothing will bring him back \u2014 but the truth had to be said in court.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Dhaka was already on high alert ahead of the ruling. Security forces sealed off<\/strong> areas around the tribunal, following days of escalating political violence, including dozens of crude bombs<\/strong> detonated across the capital. Police issued \u201cshoot-on-sight\u201d<\/strong> orders for anyone attacking vehicles or launching explosives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The uprising \u2014 now referred to as the \u201cJuly Revolution\u201d<\/strong> \u2014 began as a student protest and escalated into the largest anti-government movement since Bangladesh\u2019s independence in 1971. The UN estimates that up to 1,400 people were killed<\/strong> as Hasina\u2019s government deployed armed police, military units, and elite forces in a sweeping crackdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Human-rights groups have documented years of allegations under Hasina\u2019s rule, including corruption, torture, enforced disappearances<\/strong>, and politically motivated prosecutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bangladesh is preparing for its first national election since Hasina\u2019s fall<\/strong>, scheduled for early February. Her party, the Awami League<\/strong>, has been banned<\/strong> from participating, and most party leaders are either imprisoned or in exile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hasina\u2019s son, Sajeeb Wazed<\/strong>, told Reuters the former leader remains \u201csafe\u201d in India \u2014 but warned she will not remain silent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cShe\u2019s upset, angry, outraged,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are determined to fight back by whatever means necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n The interim government, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus<\/strong>, has defended the tribunal\u2019s transparency, noting that much of the trial was broadcast live<\/strong>. Critics, including Human Rights Watch, argue that despite reforms, the tribunal still falls short of fair-trial standards<\/strong>, especially given its power to issue the death penalty<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The ex-prime minister was convicted over a brutal crackdown on last year\u2019s student-led uprising, as Bangladesh enters one of the most turbulent periods in its modern history. DHAKA, Bangladesh \u2014 November 18, 2025.Bangladesh\u2019s deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina has been sentenced to death in absentia by the country\u2019s International Crimes Tribunal, which found her guilty […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2776,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[740,741],"class_list":["post-2775","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world","tag-bangladesh","tag-sheikh-hasina"],"yoast_head":"\n
Bangladesh\u2019s deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina<\/strong> has been sentenced to death in absentia<\/strong> by the country\u2019s International Crimes Tribunal, which found her guilty of crimes against humanity<\/strong> tied to a violent crackdown on last year\u2019s nationwide anti-government uprising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nA NATION ON EDGE<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nWHAT COMES NEXT<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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