Sheikh Hasina sentenced to death: What are the charges against ousted Bangladesh PM? Explained in 10 points

Sheikh Hasina, the ousted Prime Minister of Bangladesh, has been sentenced to death on charges of "crimes against humanity" by a special tribunal in connection with the mass students uprising in 2024. The mass students' crackdown in Dhaka and other parts of Bangladesh last year triggered the collapse of her Awami League government. The court found Sheikh Hasina guilty on three counts, concluding a months-long trial. Sheikh Hasina was tried in her absence and is living in exile in India.

Reading the verdict to the court, Justice Golam Mortuza Mozumder said the “accused prime minister committed crimes against humanity by her order to use drones, helicopters and lethal weapons”. The tribunal also sentenced former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan to death in the case while a third suspect — a former police chief — was sentenced to five years in prison as he became a state witness against Hasina and pleaded guilty.

Sheikh Hasina had pleaded not guilty to the charges and alleged the tribunal was a “politically motivated charade”, according to The Guardian.


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Charges against Sheikh Hasina: 10 points

-According to the document, the tribunal said, "Sheikh Hasina has committed crimes against humanity. Six protesters at Chankharpul were killed using lethal weapons on August 5"

-"By issuing orders and through the inaction of Sheikh Hasina, the then home minister, and the IG of police, the students were killed. These killings happened under the orders and full knowledge of PM Sheikh Hasina. By such acts, they committed crimes against humanity," the charge document said.

-It was “crystal clear” that she “expressed her incitement to the activists of her party… and furthermore, she expressed that she ordered to kill and eliminate the protesting students,” the judges said, reports CNN.

-The Bangladesh court held Sheikh Hasina responsible for both direct command and failure to prevent the killings during the students unrest. The court observed that the Hasina government did not respond to the students’ demands.

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-The court said that instead of engaging with the students, the then prime minister dismissed the movement and made derogatory remarks, calling the students “Razakars,” a term considered offensive in Bangladesh.

-The court noted that after the derogatory remarks, there was a rage among students, adding that Sheikh Hasina then ordered the "elimination of protesting students". The judges noted that the prosecution's witnesses proved that the attack on Dhaka University students was by Awami League wings, including the Chhatra League and Yuva League.

-"Sheikh Hasina ordered law enforcement agencies to use drones to locate congregating protesters and helicopters and lethal weapons to kill them," the court said.

-Sheikh Hasina was "found guilty on three counts", including incitement, order to kill, and inaction to prevent the atrocities, judge Golam Mortuza Mozumder read to the packed court in Dhaka. "We have decided to inflict her with only one sentence -- that is, the sentence of death."

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-Sheikh Hasina was ousted on August 5 last year and fled to India. Bangladeshi Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus took over as the head of an interim government three days after her fall. Yunus vowed to punish Hasina and banned the activities of her Awami League party.

-"The verdicts announced against me have been made by a rigged tribunal established and presided over by an unelected government with no democratic mandate," Hasina said, reported AFP. "They are biased and politically motivated."

(With agency inputs)