Dhaka, 17 Nov 2025 (BSS)

In a historic ruling, a Bangladeshi tribunal has delivered a death sentence to the country's ousted Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, and her former Home Minister, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal. The verdict, announced on November 17, 2025, by the International Crimes Tribunal-1 (ICT-1), holds the two most powerful figures of the previous government criminally responsible for the atrocities committed during the violent "July Mass Uprising" of 2024.

The court found them guilty under the legal principle of "superior command responsibility," asserting that their positions of ultimate authority made them accountable for the actions of the state security forces. The tribunal was unequivocal in its judgment, stating that not only did Hasina and Kamal fail to prevent the violence, but they actively incited and abetted it.

The convictions stem from a series of harrowing incidents. The court detailed how, in July 2024, Sheikh Hasina publicly labelled peaceful protesters as "children of Razakars," a deeply inflammatory term referencing collaborators from the 1971 war of independence. This rhetoric, the judges found, served as a green light for the crackdown that followed. The charges were chillingly specific: from a threatening phone call to a university vice-chancellor, to the subsequent shooting of a student, Abu Sayed. For these initial crimes, the pair were sentenced to imprisonment until their natural deaths.

However, the death penalty was reserved for the more severe charges related to events in August. The prosecution successfully argued that Hasina explicitly ordered the deployment of helicopters, drones, and lethal weapons against unarmed citizens. This command, the tribunal concluded, directly led to the deaths of six students in Dhaka's Chankharpul area and six more protesters in Ashulia, whose bodies were then set on fire in an attempt to destroy evidence.

In a dramatic twist, the former Inspector General of Police, Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, who was also charged, received a significantly reduced sentence of only five years. The court showed leniency after he pleaded guilty, turned "approver," and provided a full confession, cooperating with investigators to unveil the chain of command.

The verdict concludes the first major trial concerning the state's brutal suppression of the July uprising. The tribunal has also ordered the confiscation of all properties belonging to Hasina and Kamal, with the proceeds directed as compensation to the families of the victims. With the proceedings broadcast live across the country, the ruling marks a profound moment of reckoning, forever etching the names of the July martyrs and the leaders found responsible for their deaths into the complex tapestry of Bangladesh's history.

News 18 reported that in her first sharply worded message sent to News18, Hasina said, “I do not care. They are illegitimate, and the verdict was delivered by an illegitimate extremist regime. The people of Bangladesh have rejected this kangaroo-court judgement. The Awami League rejects it too."