A Dhaka‑based tribunal on 17 November 2025 found former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina guilty of crimes against humanity in connection with last year’s student‑led protests, sentencing her in absentia to death. The charges related to a 2024 mass uprising, during which hundreds of people were reportedly killed. The tribunal also handed a death sentence to former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, while a former police chief who testified for the prosecution received a prison term.

Security was significantly heightened across Bangladesh prior to the verdict. Authorities deployed military and paramilitary forces and announced a shoot‑on‑sight directive in response to a week of arson attacks and crude bomb explosions. Schools and transportation services were disrupted, and the ruling party, the Awami League—formerly led by Hasina—called for a nationwide shutdown in protest.

Hasina has been living in exile in India since her ousting in August 2024. She and her party rejected the court’s legitimacy and accused it of political bias. The interim government, headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, banned the Awami League from participating in elections and pledged to hold national polls in February 2026.

The ruling represents a significant escalation in the legal and political battle following the upheaval that ended Hasina’s 15‑year tenure. It is expected to have broad implications for Bangladesh’s domestic stability, the future of its political parties, and relations with India. As events unfold, the international community continues to monitor developments closely.

Sources: AP News, Reuters, Al Jazeera