Bangladesh's ousted prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, has been sentenced to death for crimes against humanity, sparking fears of political turmoil ahead of national elections. The three-judge panel of the International Crimes Tribunal, Bangladesh's domestic war crimes court, delivered the verdict on Monday, following the violent suppression of student protests that toppled her government last August. The trial has been criticized by Hasina's lawyers, who have appealed to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, citing concerns over due process and fair trial rights. The 78-year-old remains in self-imposed exile and did not appear in court in Dhaka. Her Awami League party has called for a nationwide shutdown to protest the verdict, while prosecutors sought the death penalty after the court heard that about 1,400 protesters were killed and up to 25,000 were injured during weeks of unrest in 2024. The former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan was also sentenced to death, while a retired police chief received a five-year sentence after becoming a state witness against Hasina and pleading guilty. She faced five charges, including inciting the murder of protesters and ordering them to be hanged, as well as authorizing the use of lethal weapons, drones, and helicopters to suppress the unrest. Hasina denies all charges and ruled Bangladesh with an iron fist from 2009 until her ouster in 2024.
