Bangladesh Prosecutors Seek Death Penalty for Ex–Prime Minister Hasina
Dhaka: Bangladeshi prosecutors on Thursday demanded the death penalty for former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is being tried in absentia for alleged crimes against humanity stemming from a deadly crackdown on student protests last year, according to AFP.
Hasina, 78, fled to India after her government collapsed in 2024 and has refused court orders to return. Prosecutors allege she ordered security forces to crush a student-led uprising, which the United Nations says left up to 1,400 people dead between July and August 2024.
“We demand the highest punishment,” Chief Prosecutor Tajul Islam told reporters outside the Dhaka court. “For 1,400 murders, she should be sentenced 1,400 times but since that’s not humanly possible, we demand at least one death sentence.”
The prosecution described Hasina as the “nucleus of all crimes committed during the uprising,” claiming she orchestrated or failed to prevent mass killings as demonstrators called for democratic reforms. She is being tried alongside two former officials; Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, her ex–interior minister now also a fugitive, and Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, a former police chief who has pleaded guilty.
Audio recordings presented in court purportedly capture Hasina ordering forces to “use lethal weapons” and “shoot wherever they find them.” Prosecutors argue the instructions directly led to indiscriminate killings of protesters.
Hasina’s now-banned Awami League says she “categorically denies” the charges, calling the proceedings politically motivated. She has refused to recognize the court’s legitimacy, though she is represented by a state-appointed attorney.
The trial, which began June 1, is nearing its conclusion as the interim government prepares to hold elections in February 2026. Prosecutors have filed five charges, including failure to prevent murder, which under Bangladeshi law constitute crimes against humanity.
Hasina, already convicted in July of contempt of court and sentenced in absentia to six months in prison, also faces multiple corruption cases implicating family members, including her daughter Saima Wazed, a senior UN official, and niece Tulip Siddiq, a British MP, both of whom deny wrongdoing.
