Updates: Hasina sentenced to death, Bangladesh demands India extradite her

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For more on Sheikh Hasina’s conviction, read our story here and an explainer on charges against her here.

And here is our exclusive story on the 2024 protest movement that toppled Hasina.

• Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal has sentenced former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to death over her government’s deadly crackdown on last year’s student-led protests, a ruling the attorney general calls “one of the most important” in Bangladesh’s history.
• The court also has sentenced former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan to death for his role in the crackdown, and it has ordered the state to confiscate both officials’ properties.
• Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry has urged India to immediately extradite both Hasina and Khan, who are living in exile there.
• India says it has “noted” the verdict and “remains committed to the best interests” of Bangladesh’s people but has not responded to the extradition demand.
• Hasina’s state-appointed defence attorney says he is “pained” by the verdict, which Hasina cannot appeal unless she surrenders or is detained by Bangladeshi authorities.

Amir Hossain, the state-appointed defence lawyer in Hasina’s case, says he cannot appeal the verdict against her unless she turns herself in or is otherwise detained by Bangladeshi authorities.

“I do not have the opportunity to file an appeal in this case, not until my clients surrender or are arrested by some other means,” Hossain was quoted by the Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha news agency as saying. “Until then, there is no scope for filing an appeal.”

In comments carried by local media, Hossain added that he was “deeply pained” by the outcome.

There were cheers in court as Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal sentenced former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to death for crimes against humanity over her government’s violent crackdown on student-led protests last year.

The Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami (BJI) party has welcomed the death sentences handed to Hasina and Khan, calling the tribunal’s judgement “transparent, neutral and of international standard”.

Speaking at a news conference in Dhaka, party Secretary-General Mia Golam Porwar said the ruling proves that “no head of government or powerful political leader is above the law”, and that the verdict offers “some measure of comfort” to families of those killed during the uprising.

He said, unlike past trials of Jamaat leaders by the tribunals, which the party maintains were politically motivated, today’s verdict was based on “documented evidence, audio and video records, and telephone conversations presented openly before the tribunal”.

Jamaat leaders present at the briefing urged that remaining cases linked to state violence during Hasina’s tenure should be pursued with “similar neutrality”.

The tribunal delivered three categories of punishment for the five charges against Hasina, Khan and Al-Mamun.

It gave death penalty to Hasina on two counts, imprisonment until natural death on one count, and property confiscation on the rest.

To Khan, the court sentenced the death penalty on two counts, a life term equivalent on others, and property confiscation.

Former police chief al-Mamun was sentenced to five years in prison, since he had turned a state witness.

Rabiul Islam, whose 19-year-old brother Imam Hasan Taim was reportedly shot and killed by police during last year’s protest movement, says the family members of those killed in the unrest want Bangladesh’s government to swiftly secure the return of Hasina and Khan, both sentenced to death in absentia today.

Only once the verdict is carried out “will the souls of the martyrs find peace,” Islam said in comments carried by Bangladesh’s The Daily Star newspaper.

He added that bereaved families are unhappy with the lenient five-year prison term given to ex-police chief Chowdhury Abdullah al-Mamun, saying they would appeal the verdict with the country’s Supreme Court “so that he is given the highest punishment”.

In addition to sentencing Hasina and former Home Minister Khan to death, Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal has also ordered the confiscation of their properties.

“For the crimes committed by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, not only death sentences have been imposed but all their properties have also been ordered to be confiscated and taken into the state’s favour,” said the tribunal’s verdict, quoted by the Views Bangladesh news outlet.

“This order must be implemented quickly.”

Mohammad Asaduzzaman has called the death sentence for Hasina “one of the most important rulings in the country’s history”, saying it delivers long-awaited justice to victims of the 2024 uprising.

He said the judgement brings justice to “the martyrs, the state and the prosecution”, and reflects the nation’s responsibility to uphold the constitution and the rule of law.

He noted that the court imposed the maximum penalty on Hasina and former Home Minister Khan, while giving former police chief Al-Mamun a five-year term for turning state witness.

Asaduzzaman said the ruling would offer “solace” to the victims’ families and “stand as a message that no one, regardless of power, is above the law”.

Salahuddin Ahmed of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which historically rivals Hasina’s now-banned Awami League, has praised the guilty verdict against the former prime minister as a “milestone” that shows the rule of law persists.

“It sends a message that no one can establish a fascist system, become a fascist or create a one-person rule again,” said Ahmed in comments carried by Bangladesh’s The Daily Star newspaper.

Bangladesh’s acting head of the Law Ministry, Professor Asif Nazrul, calls the tribunal’s death sentences for former PM Sheikh Hasina and ex-Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan “one of the greatest acts of justice” since last year’s uprising.

Speaking to reporters after the verdict, he said: “This is a historic day. The person responsible for the deaths of hundreds and the maiming of thousands has been sentenced to death. It is a victory for the July Uprising.”

Nazrul added that the government would again request India to extradite Hasina. “If India continues to give refuge to someone responsible for mass killings, it must understand the hostility this creates towards Bangladesh and its people.”

He said the evidence against Hasina and her aides was “so direct and overwhelming” that any court would have imposed the maximum punishment. He also urged future governments to continue all remaining cases linked to the uprising “at full pace”.

It is highly unlikely that India will extradite Sheikh Hasina to Bangladesh. Hasina’s son has spoken in the media, saying she’ll never be extradited – that the Indians will ensure her security.

This could cause a diplomatic problem between the two countries, whose relations are already at a low point.

It is something that needs to be worked out unless India becomes more accepting of Bangladesh’s new government.

Hasina’s opponents have gathered outside her father’s home-turned-museum to demolish the rest of the building, which was looted and damaged during last year’s protests. They have brought two excavators to demolish the building.

Police charged with batons and used stun grenades to disperse the crowd. In the evening, more than 300 people were still there and burned tyres on streets as security officials remained deployed.

Let’s bring you up to speed:

• Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal has found toppled Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced her to death over her government’s bloody crackdown on last year’s protests.
• The court also sentenced former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan to death and gave ex-police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun – who testified as a key witness – a five-year prison term.
• The court ordered the government to pay compensation for protesters who were killed or injured during the unrest.
• Hasina, speaking from exile in India, slammed the court’s decision as “biased and politically motivated”.
• Bangladesh’s interim government called the verdict “historic” and urged the public to “remain calm, restrained and responsible”.
• The interim government also asked India to “immediately hand over” Hasina. New Delhi is yet to comment on the developments.

Mohammad Tajul Islam, Bangladesh’s chief prosecutor for the International Crimes Tribunal, says the country “successfully delivered justice” in the crimes against humanity case that resulted in death sentences for Hasina and Khan.

He said Bangladesh maintained “all international norms and standards” while prosecuting what he described as a highly complex case. “The evidence presented here would stand in any court in the world,” he said, adding that the same punishment would have been handed down “in any international jurisdiction”.

Islam said the ruling was “not an act of revenge” but a reflection of the nation’s commitment to justice. “This verdict proves that no one is above the law, no matter how powerful,” he said.

He added that if the judgement brings “even a small measure of comfort” to the families of 1,400 protesters killed during the uprising, the prosecution would consider that “its greatest achievement”.

There has been jubilation in the streets from students, and much of the public is happy with Hasina’s sentence.

But Hasina’s party is also one of the largest parties – she has a considerable number of supporters. They’re not going to take it very easily. They’re bound to come out and protest, although they’re facing a lot of [pushback] from the public and security forces.

But it remains to be seen how the reaction from the broader international community will be.

We’ll have to see how the fallout is over the next hours and days.

Salahuddin Ahmed, a senior member of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), has welcomed the tribunal’s verdict against Sheikh Hasina and two of her former top officials, saying it “establishes justice” and sets an example for the future.

Speaking to reporters at Dhaka University after the ruling, he said the punishment was “less than the gravity of the crimes”, but added that the law does not allow a harsher sentence.

“This judgement proves that no matter how powerful a fascist or autocrat becomes, they will one day have to stand in the dock,” he said, as he expressed hope that other pending cases related to last year’s crackdown would also result in fair judgements.

The interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus has called the death sentence for former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina a “historic verdict”.

It also warned that any attempt to create chaos and disorder would be dealt with strictly. “We urge people to remain calm, restrained and responsible,” it said.