DHAKA (THE THURSDAY TIMES) — A special tribunal in Dhaka has sentenced former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to death in absentia after finding her guilty of crimes against humanity linked to the deadly crackdown on student protests in 2024.
Exiled former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina has been sentenced to death after being found guilty of crimes against humanity and a brutal crackdown on opposition protests. pic.twitter.com/9hfFDKZ6Ek
— The Thursday Times (@thursday_times) November 17, 2025
Judges ruled that security forces under her command carried out lethal operations across multiple cities, relying on surveillance footage, operational logs and testimony from survivors who described the use of live ammunition and mass detentions during the unrest.
According to the tribunal’s findings, the response to the demonstrations involved systematic violence that resulted in the deaths of large numbers of students and civilians. Prosecutors argued that the chain of command placed ultimate responsibility on Hasina, who was charged with authorising the deployment of armed units to clear protest sites across university campuses and major public squares.
Hasina, currently living in exile in India, did not participate in the proceedings and was tried under provisions allowing trials in absentia. The court confirmed that the verdict will be forwarded to the government for enforcement under Bangladesh’s existing legal framework.∎
