Bangladeshs ousted PM Sheikh Hasina sentenced to death for ordering deadly student crackdown: Historic verdict
Bangladesh’s ousted prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, was sentenced to death in her absence on Monday at the end of a months-long trial that found her guilty of ordering a deadly crackdown on a student-led uprising last year.People in the packed courtroom – including families of victims – cheered and clapped, and some in the crowds outside sank to their knees and offered up prayers after the verdict, the harshest against a leader in the country’s history.Hasina – who fled to neighboring India in August 2024 at the height of the uprising against her government – issued a statement dismissing the court as a “rigged tribunal”.The interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus described it as a “historic verdict”, but called for calm and warned that it would deal with any disorder.After the verdict, the Bangladeshi foreign ministry called on India to extradite Hasina and former interior minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, who was also sentenced to death in the same case.India said it noted the verdict, was committed to the best interests of the people of Bangladesh and would “engage constructively”, without going into more detail.Earlier on Monday, police clashed with protesters demanding the demolition of what remains of the house of Hasina’s father in Dhaka.Much of it was destroyed last year.Police and paramilitary forces were deployed around government buildings and the tribunal complex, and there was tight security across the capital and other major cities.
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The verdict by the International Crimes Tribunal – Bangladesh’s domestic war crimes court – comes ahead of elections in February.Hasina’s son warned on Sunday there could be violence if a ban on her Awami League party taking part was not lift...