Bangladesh Court Sentences Ex-PM Sheikh Hasina to Death for 2024 Protest Crackdown

The Sheikh Hasina, former prime minister of Bangladesh, was sentenced to death on November 18, 2025, by the Bangladesh International Crimes Tribunal for crimes against humanity tied to the violent suppression of student-led protests in July and August 2024. The ruling, delivered in Dhaka after a seven-month trial, marks one of the most dramatic political turnarounds in South Asian history. Hasina, now 78, was found guilty of ordering security forces to open fire on unarmed demonstrators demanding reform of a controversial civil service job quota system — a movement that spiraled into the deadliest unrest since Bangladesh’s 1971 independence war. Hundreds died. Thousands were injured. And the world watched as a once-dominant political figure fell from grace with startling speed.

The July Uprising That Shook a Nation

The protests began in early July 2024 when university students in Dhaka and Chittagong took to the streets, outraged by a government decision to reserve 56% of civil service positions for descendants of 1971 freedom fighters. What started as peaceful sit-ins quickly exploded into nationwide demonstrations, fueled by broader anger over corruption, economic stagnation, and political repression. By mid-July, the government responded with overwhelming force: tear gas, live ammunition, armored vehicles on campus grounds, and mass arrests. Sky News called it “the worst political violence since 1971.”

According to official data compiled by human rights groups, at least 472 people were killed between July 15 and August 12, 2024 — including students as young as 16. Videos circulated globally showing police firing into crowds near Dhaka University, while hospitals reported overwhelmed morgues. The tribunal’s investigation began after the father of 19-year-old student activist Arif Rahman, killed near the Science Building on July 21, filed a petition demanding accountability. That petition, filed on August 3, 2024, became the legal trigger for the tribunal’s unprecedented case against Hasina and nine senior officials.

The Trial and the Verdict

The tribunal’s proceedings, held in a heavily guarded courtroom in Dhaka, were broadcast live inside Bangladesh — an unusual move, given the government’s earlier ban on Hasina’s public appearances. The prosecution presented over 2,000 pages of evidence: security camera footage, eyewitness testimonies from survivors, intercepted communications between military commanders, and medical reports listing bullet wounds consistent with military-grade rifles. One chilling piece of evidence was a text message sent from Hasina’s office on July 19, 2024: “Do not allow them to occupy any public space. The message must be clear: dissent ends here.”

Hasina, who had already fled to India by September 2024, was not present. Her defense team, appointed by the court, argued that the use of force was “proportionate” and that the protests had turned violent, with some demonstrators allegedly armed. But the tribunal rejected this, stating that “the scale and coordination of lethal force against unarmed civilians, including children, cannot be justified under any legal or moral standard.”

On November 18, the tribunal convicted Hasina on seven counts of crimes against humanity, including murder, persecution, and inhumane acts. She was also found guilty of ordering the destruction of evidence and obstructing justice. The death sentence was handed down without recommendation for clemency — a rare move in Bangladesh’s legal history.

Corruption Allegations and Transnational Money Trail

But the death sentence wasn’t the only bombshell. The Bangladesh Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), working with international partners, revealed a sprawling financial network tied to Hasina and her inner circle. Investigators allege that more than $300 million was siphoned from public funds between 2014 and 2024 through shell companies in Hong Kong and the Cayman Islands. Funds were funneled into luxury properties in London, New York, and Miami — including a $12 million townhouse in Belgravia purchased under the name of Hasina’s daughter, Saifur Rahman.

The Padma Bridge and Dhaka Metro Rail projects — both hailed as national milestones — were central to the corruption probe. The World Bank pulled out of the Padma Bridge in 2012 after uncovering a bribery scheme involving Bangladeshi officials and a Canadian firm. Though Canadian courts later dismissed charges due to jurisdictional issues, the ACC now says the same pattern repeated during Hasina’s tenure.

One of the most surprising figures implicated is Tulip Siddiq, the UK Labour MP and Hasina’s niece. British media reported she resigned from her role as a junior minister in January 2025 after the UK’s National Crime Agency flagged suspicious property transactions linked to her. Siddiq denies any wrongdoing, calling the probe “a politically motivated witch hunt.” Still, the UK’s HM Revenue & Customs has frozen two properties in London connected to her.

Exile, Extradition, and Regional Fallout

Hasina has been living in a guarded compound in New Delhi since September 2024, under what Indian officials call “discreet humanitarian protection.” But Bangladesh’s interim government, led by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, has formally requested her extradition. India, which has historically shielded Bangladeshi political figures, now faces mounting pressure. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), long suppressed under Hasina’s rule, has demanded she be brought to justice — not just for the killings, but for the imprisonment of its leader, Khaleda Zia, on what many consider fabricated charges.

Meanwhile, the tribunal’s ban on Hasina’s broadcasts — enacted on December 5, 2024 — remains in force. Her speeches, once common on state TV, are now illegal to air. Her party, the Awami League, has fractured. Several ministers have defected. The political vacuum is deepening.

What This Means for Bangladesh — and the World

This isn’t just about one woman’s fall. It’s about whether a nation can hold its most powerful accountable. For the first time, a South Asian leader is being sentenced to death not for war crimes in a conflict zone, but for suppressing peaceful dissent at home. The case sets a precedent: political violence, when systematic and state-directed, can be prosecuted as crimes against humanity — even years later.

For global anti-corruption agencies, the $300 million money trail is a blueprint. The involvement of 12 countries in the financial probe — including the U.S., U.K., Singapore, and Switzerland — shows how deeply entrenched these networks are. AML/CFT professionals now call this the “Bangladesh Model” — where political repression and financial crime are two sides of the same coin.

As Bangladesh prepares for elections in 2026, the question isn’t just who will win — it’s whether the institutions that convicted Hasina will survive the backlash. Will the judiciary remain independent? Will the media be allowed to report freely? Or will this be remembered as a fleeting moment of justice, quickly buried by the next regime?