Tribunal Court rules death sentence for ex-Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina, she calls it rigged

Ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, and former Inspector General of Police Chowdhury Abdullah-ul-Mamun were held guilty by the International Crimes Tribunal of "committing crimes against humanity" during the 2024 student protests in the country that toppled her government. 

The verdict, which was read on Monday, found Hasina "guilty on three counts, which include incitement, order to kill, and inaction to prevent the atrocities". The three were tried on five charges - murders, attempted murders, torture, and use of lethal force on unarmed student protestors, issuance of orders to deploy lethal weapons, drones, and specific killings in Rangpur and Dhaka. 

Earlier, the tribunal court read out a life sentence for her, but later, a death sentence was given due to the crimes committed. Judge Golam Mortuza Mozumder said in the verdict, "We have decided to inflict her with only one sentence -- that is sentence of death." 

While Sheikh Hasina and Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal were given a death sentence, Al Mamun will face five years in prison. 

The former Prime Minister, whose trial was conducted in absentia, has denied all charges against her. Reacting to the verdict and the death sentence ordered against her, Hasina said that she was "not given a fair chance to defend myself in court." 

She further alleged that the verdict was "rigged and politically motivated." 

Hasina said, "Verdicts announced against me made by a rigged tribunal established and presided over by an unelected government with no democratic mandate. The verdict is biased and politically motivated. I am not afraid to face my accusers in a proper tribunal where evidence can be weighed and tested fairly." 

Adding, "We lost control over the situation, but cannot characterise what happened as a premeditated assault on citizens." 

The mass uprising, also known as the Student People's Uprising, began as a quota reform movement in June 2024. Coming to July, it turned into a full-fledged movement, with the Bangladesh Government carrying out mass killings of protestors, which is termed " the July massacre." 

Hasina's government was accused of a "heavy-handed response", which killed students, journalists, as well as onlookers. It was a "non-cooperation" movement by August, and Hasina had to resign on August 5, 2024. 

Sheikh Hasina has been living in exile in New Delhi for a year, after the unrest in 2024. The Home Minister is still absconding, with no information known. 

An interim government is in place in Bangladesh, led by economist Muhammad Yunus.