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Dhaka Court Sentences Ex-PM Sheikh Hasina to Death in Absentia

Hasina calls the ruling politically motivated, intensifying questions over trial independence.

Overview

  • The court also sentenced former interior minister Asaduzzaman Khan to death and gave a former police chief turned state witness a five-year term.
  • The verdict was broadcast live from inside the courthouse under extensive deployments of army, border guards, and police in the capital and beyond.
  • Hasina and Khan are in India and both rejected the decision, with Hasina describing the court as illegitimate under an unelected authority.
  • The Awami League announced a nationwide shutdown in protest and denounced the proceedings after a state-appointed lawyer was assigned to represent Hasina.
  • The charges relate to the 2024 student crackdown, with UN estimates of up to about 1,400 deaths contrasted with interim health officials citing over 800 dead and roughly 14,000 injured.