DHAKA: Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) Monday convicted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajid and awarded death penalty as well as life imprisonemnt in three criminal cases including the case relating to usage of lethal weapons and deadly crackdown on a student-led uprising last year, wherein more than 1400 citizens were killed.
Sheikh Hasina, 78, is convicted and awarded sentences in absentia on charges including the crimes against humanity for a deadly crackdown on student-led protests in 2024.
Former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun has been sentenced to five years in prison after confessing to his guilt and testifying as a public witness against the former prime minister and home minister in the tribunal. The tribunal ruled that the former IGP made a full and truthful disclosure of the events within his knowledge.
Sheikh Hasina was convicted on three counts under Charge-2, while Kamal and Mamun were found guilty on two counts for abetting the use of drones, helicopters and live ammunition, and for failing to restrain the forces under their command.
A three-judge bench of the International Crimes Tribunal-1 was headed by Justice Golam Mortuza Mojumdar. The tribunal’s other members are Justice Md Shafiul Alam Mahmood and Judge Md Mohitul Haque Enam Chowdhury.
Rajakars’ grandchildren remark
According to the 453-page verdict, the tribunal concluded that Sheikh Hasina fuelled unrest through remarks she made at a press conference in July 2024. At the time, she questioned whether “the grandchildren of Rajakars (volunteers), a term for protestors against Sheikh Hasina regime, should be given jobs instead of the descendants of Freedom Fighters,” a comment the judges said helped provoke violence.
The judgement also noted that she heightened the situation further by suggesting that the Awami League’s student wing, the Chhatra League, was capable of dealing with the protesting students on its own. Taking her comments together with what the tribunal described as her failure to take action against those who assaulted demonstrators, the court determined that these amounted to crimes against humanity.
‘Shoot anywhere you can’
The judgment also references a phone call between Hasina and the then mayor of Dhaka South, Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh. During that conversation, she reportedly said that security forces had been instructed to use deadly force and detain those involved in the July Uprising. According to the tribunal, she stated that police had been told to “shoot protestors wherever they find them.”
The bench ruled that Hasina, along with Kamal and Mamun, bore responsibility for crimes against humanity by issuing orders, encouraging violence, aiding it, or failing to act while peaceful demonstrators were targeted.
Death penalty, asset seizure
Prosecutors from the ICT pushed for the toughest possible sentence for Hasina and Kamal, calling as well for their assets to be confiscated. They also indicated that, after Monday’s ruling, they would pursue a fresh Interpol notice against them.
Security around the tribunal was tightened considerably from Sunday night, with multiple layers of protection in place. The verdict was aired live on Bangladesh Television and simultaneously streamed on the ICT’s official Facebook page, as well as shown on several large outdoor screens.
Background
This case marks a historic moment for Bangladesh, as it is the first time the International Crimes Tribunal has issued a verdict against a sitting head of government.
The arguments in the trial concluded on October 23, with Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam and Attorney General Mohammad Asaduzzaman presenting the prosecution’s final submissions. Defence counsel Md Amir Hossain represented the accused, while prosecutors Mizanul Islam, Gazi MH Tamim, Faruk Ahmed, Moinul Karim, ABM Sultan Mahmud, and others attended the proceedings.
Initially, the tribunal had scheduled the verdict for November 13, later postponing it to November 17. Until October 22, the state defence had presented arguments on behalf of the absconding accused, Sheikh Hasina and Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, as well as the key witness-turned-accused, former IGP Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun. The prosecution pushed for the maximum sentence for all three individuals.
Over three days of defence submissions, Hossain argued for acquittal, challenging the reliability of several critical witnesses, including Abdullah Al-Mamun, Daily Amar Desh editor Mahmudur Rahman, and National Citizen Party (NCP) convener Nahid Islam. He dismissed their testimonies, claiming Mamun had been coerced into cooperating and asserting that Rahman’s statements were politically biased. Later, Mamun’s lawyer, Zayed Bin Amjad, presented separate arguments on behalf of his client.
A dramatic development occurred on July 10 when former IGP Mamun publicly admitted responsibility for killings and violence during the July–August unrest. Appearing before Tribunal-1, he stated: “The accusations of murder and genocide during the July–August movement are true. I plead guilty and wish to assist the court in uncovering the full truth.” His confession coincided with the tribunal formally framing charges against the three accused, while rejecting petitions seeking their release.
The prosecution had filed five counts of crimes against humanity, backed by an extensive evidentiary record spanning 8,747 pages, which includes 2,018 pages of references, 405 pages of seized documents, and a 2,724-page list of martyrs.
The death sentence awarded to Sheikh Hasina Wajid, daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, is a dramatic fall for a leader long shielded by Indian patronage. Hasina’s actions, carried out in collusion with Indian agencies against Pakistan and her own people, mark a long-overdue reckoning. Once projected by New Delhi as a “secular success story,” Hasina’s downfall unveils the depth of Indian manipulation in Bangladesh’s internal affairs. The development shatters India’s moral in the region, exposing its role in destabilizing neighbors under the guise of democracy.
