Dhaka, Bangladesh. A special tribunal on Monday sentenced Bangladesh’s ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and one of her closest aides to death for crimes against humanity related to a violent crackdown on a student uprising last year that left hundreds dead and ended her 15-year rule.

The International Crimes Tribunal in Dhaka handed down death sentences to Hasina and former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan for their roles in authorizing deadly force against protesters. Both fled to India last year and were tried in absentia.

A third defendant, a former police chief, received a five-year prison sentence after turning state witness and pleading guilty.

Hasina and Khan were charged over the deaths of hundreds during the student-led protests in July and August 2024. The current interim government’s health adviser has said more than 800 people were killed and around 14,000 injured, while a United Nations report in February estimated the death toll could be as high as 1,400.

Hasina Responds

Hasina rejected the ruling, saying the charges were unfounded and that she and Khan had acted responsibly during a rapidly escalating crisis.

“We lost control of the situation, but to characterize what happened as a premeditated assault on citizens is simply to misread the facts,” she said Monday in a statement denouncing what she called a “biased and politically motivated” verdict.

“I mourn all of the deaths that occurred in July and August of last year, on both sides of the political divide,” she said. “But neither I nor other political leaders ordered the killing of protesters.”

Hasina cannot appeal the conviction unless she surrenders or is arrested within 30 days.

The verdict comes as Bangladesh continues to struggle with political instability following Hasina’s ouster on Aug. 5, 2024. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus assumed leadership of an interim government three days later, vowing to prosecute Hasina and banning her Awami League party from participating in elections scheduled for February.

A three-member tribunal led by Justice Golam Mortuza Mozumder delivered the ruling in a session broadcast live for several hours. Some in the packed courtroom cheered the death sentence, prompting Mozumder to scold them and ask that they show restraint.

Families of those killed or injured during last year’s unrest gathered outside the tribunal for hours awaiting the outcome.

Hasina’s son, Sajeeb Wazed, currently in the United States, told The Associated Press that the “verdict is a joke and meaningless. My mother is safe in India. The trials were so legally flawed they won't survive any challenge once rule of law returns to Bangladesh.”

Exile in India

Bangladesh’s Ministry of Home Affairs on Monday urged India to extradite Hasina and Khan. India’s foreign ministry acknowledged the verdict but did not say whether it would return them to Dhaka.

“As a close neighbor, India remains committed to the best interests of the people of Bangladesh, including peace, democracy, inclusion and stability,” the ministry said. “We will always engage constructively with all stakeholders to that end.”

India has previously ignored extradition requests for Hasina and Khan, contributing to tensions between the two countries.

Unrest has grown in Bangladesh in the days leading up to the ruling. Nearly 50 arson attacks, mostly targeting vehicles, and dozens of crude bomb explosions were reported nationwide over the past week. Two people were killed in the arson attacks, according to local media.

The interim government deployed paramilitary border guards and police in Dhaka and other major cities ahead of the verdict. The Awami League called for a nationwide shutdown on Monday to protest the ruling.

Not far from the tribunal, anti-Hasina groups gathered outside her father’s home-turned-museum and attempted to finish demolishing the already damaged building, using two excavators. Police used batons and stun grenades to disperse the crowd while judges were still delivering the verdict.

By evening, more than 300 people remained in the area, burning tires in the streets as security forces positioned themselves nearby.

The Supreme Court on Sunday requested the deployment of soldiers around the tribunal, according to a letter sent to army headquarters.

Yunus has said elections will proceed in February and reiterated that the Awami League will not be allowed to participate.

Bangladesh’s political landscape under the Yunus-led administration remains fraught, with few signs of a return to stability.