Bangladesh Ex-PM Sheikh Hasina Sentenced to Death in Absentia

A court in Bangladesh has found the country's former prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, guilty of crimes against humanity for the brutal suppression of the 2024 protests. The former prime minister has been sentenced to death, but the verdict was delivered in absentia, as she fled to India about a year ago and is out of reach of Bangladesh's security forces.

Along with the 78-year-old Hasina, two other high-ranking officials of her government were also found guilty: former Interior Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun. Only the latter was present at the trial, admitted his guilt, and testified as a witness for the prosecution.

Mass protests in Bangladesh began in July 2024. They were organized by students who demanded a change to the system in which one-third of public sector jobs were reserved for relatives of veterans of the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan. The students considered such a system discriminatory and demanded that hiring be based on the qualifications of each candidate.

The protests soon escalated into bloody clashes with security forces, during which hundreds of people, including children, were killed. The authorities declared a state of emergency in the country, shut down the internet, and imposed a curfew. In early August 2024, Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled to neighboring India, after which protesters stormed her residence.

Soon, an interim government of Bangladesh was formed, headed by the 85-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus. He has promised to hold new elections in early February 2026.

Hasina herself, after the verdict was announced, issued a statement in which she called the trial illegal and a "farce" organized by her political opponents. "I am not afraid to face my accusers in a real court, where the evidence can be evaluated and verified in an honest manner," she said. The former prime minister also stated that she categorically denies the accusations that she personally instructed the security forces to open fire on the protesters, admitting, however, that "the situation got out of control, and many people died in vain."