Bangladesh's ICT sentences former PM Sheikh Hasina to death in absentia for crimes against humanity in the 2024 student protests, sparking an extradition crisis with India.
Sseema Giill
On November 17, 2025, Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) sentenced former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to death in absentia. The 78-year-old leader, currently in exile in India, was convicted on three counts of crimes against humanity for her role in the violent state crackdown on a student-led uprising in July-August 2024. That crackdown resulted in the deaths of 800 to 1,400 people, marking the deadliest political violence in Bangladesh since its 1971 independence war.
The crisis began in July 2024 as student protests over a job quota system. Hasina's government responded with escalating force, including live ammunition, helicopters, and drones. Leaked audio, reportedly verified by forensic analysis, allegedly captured Hasina ordering action against protesters. The violence culminated in Hasina fleeing to India on August 5, 2024. Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus took charge of an interim government, which then activated the ICT—a tribunal Hasina herself established in 2009—to try her and her administration. The six-month trial concluded today, convicting Hasina based on over 10,000 pages of evidence and testimony from 80+ witnesses.
While most reports are focusing on the historic death sentence as "justice served" for the 2024 atrocities, the deeper story is the crisis of the tribunal's own legitimacy. The very court Sheikh Hasina created to try 1971 war criminals is now being used against her by an unelected interim government that has also banned her party from elections. This raises profound questions of whether the verdict is credible accountability based on evidence (like the forensic audio) or a sophisticated form of political retribution.
This verdict plunges India-Bangladesh relations into a severe crisis. Bangladesh is demanding extradition, but India is signaling refusal, creating a major diplomatic stalemate. Domestically, the verdict solidifies the interim government's narrative ahead of the planned 2026 elections, from which Hasina's Awami League party is already banned. The verdict's date—Hasina's 58th wedding anniversary—is seen by her supporters as a deliberate, symbolic humiliation, further undermining the trial's claims to impartial justice.
When a state uses a tribunal—however flawed—to hold a former leader accountable for mass atrocities, where does legitimate justice end and a political vendetta begin?
What are Sheikh Hasina's specific crimes according to the tribunal? She was convicted on three counts of crimes against humanity: 1) Incitement to kill protesters, 2) Ordering the use of lethal weapons (helicopters, drones, firearms), and 3) Failing to prevent atrocities by her security forces during the July-August 2024 student uprising.
Will India extradite Sheikh Hasina to Bangladesh? It is highly unlikely. Experts note the 2013 India-Bangladesh extradition treaty allows India to refuse an extradition request if the conviction is deemed "politically motivated," which is Hasina's primary defense and a charge the Yunus government denies.
How many people died in the July 2024 student uprising in Bangladesh? The exact number is disputed. The Bangladesh health ministry confirmed over 800 deaths, while the UN Human Rights Office and other estimates place the figure as high as 1,400, making it the nation's deadliest political violence since 1971.
Is the Bangladesh tribunal that sentenced Hasina legitimate? Its legitimacy is contested. While the tribunal presented substantial evidence (10,000+ pages, 80+ witnesses, forensic audio), it was established by Hasina herself in 2009. Critics, including Hasina, argue the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus is now using it as a political tool to eliminate her and her Awami League party.
What are Sheikh Hasina's specific crimes according to the tribunal? She was convicted on three counts of crimes against humanity: 1) Incitement to kill protesters, 2) Ordering the use of lethal weapons (helicopters, drones, firearms), and 3) Failing to prevent atrocities by her security forces during the July-August 2024 student uprising.
Will India extradite Sheikh Hasina to Bangladesh? It is highly unlikely. Experts note the 2013 India-Bangladesh extradition treaty allows India to refuse an extradition request if the conviction is deemed "politically motivated," which is Hasina's primary defense and a charge the Yunus government denies.
How many people died in the July 2024 student uprising in Bangladesh? The exact number is disputed. The Bangladesh health ministry confirmed over 800 deaths, while the UN Human Rights Office and other estimates place the figure as high as 1,400, making it the nation's deadliest political violence since 1971.
Is the Bangladesh tribunal that sentenced Hasina legitimate? Its legitimacy is contested. While the tribunal presented substantial evidence (10,000+ pages, 80+ witnesses, forensic audio), it was established by Hasina herself in 2009. Critics, including Hasina, argue the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus is now using it as a political tool to eliminate her and her Awami League party.
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