For nearly two decades, Sheikh Hasina stood at the pinnacle of Bangladeshi politics. The daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the country’s founding father, she built a reputation as a transformative leader. Under her rule, Bangladesh recorded major infrastructure gains, such as the Padma Bridge, witnessed rapid economic growth, and became a global hub for garment manufacturing.That era came to an abrupt and violent halt in August 2024. Student-led protests erupted over a quota system in public-sector jobs but soon escalated into a nationwide uprising dubbed the “July Uprising” aimed at Hasina’s rule itself. Security forces responded with force. On August 5, Hasina, sensing her hold on power slipping, fled Bangladesh and crossed into India, entering self-imposed exile.

A tribunal turned against its founder

What makes Hasina’s story especially extraordinary is that she was ousted by a tribunal she once helped establish. The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), created in 2010 by her government to try war criminals from the 1971 Liberation War, has now become the body that condemned her. After her departure, Bangladesh’s interim government, led by Nobel laureateMuhammad Yunus, refocused the tribunal’s mission: to prosecute Hasina and her closest aides over what it calls “crimes against humanity” during last year’s crackdown.Also read: In June 2025, the tribunal framed formal charges spanning nearly 8,750 pages, accusing Hasina, her then–home minister Asaduzzaman Khan (Kamal), and then–police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun of ordering or failing to prevent mass killings, torture and other atrocities during the July–August protests. The prosecution painted Hasina as the “mastermind” of a campaign that used live ammunition, drones, helicopters and even arson to suppress dissent.

What were the charges against Hasina?

After a months-long trial and 28 working days of testimony, the three-judge panel of ICT-1 delivered a landmark verdict. Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder, presiding over the tribunal, declared that Hasina was guilty on three counts: incitement to violence, ordering the use of lethal force, and failure to prevent atrocities.She was sentenced to death in absentia, becoming the first former Bangladeshi prime minister to receive such a punishment. Alongside Hasina, former Home Minister Kamal also received a death sentence. The only co-accused present in court, ex–police chief Al-Mamun, was spared execution: he received a prison term of five years after turning state witness.

The tribunal’s 453-page judgment detailed allegations that Hasina directly ordered the use of helicopters, drones and live ammunition; that in Chankharpul and Ashulia, security forces shot unarmed protesters and burned bodies to destroy evidence. Key charges included:From her exile in New Delhi, the 78-year-old Hasina issued a defiant reaction. She called the verdict “biased and politically motivated,” claiming the court was a “rigged tribunal” created by an unelected interim government seeking to sideline her permanently. In a written statement, she rejected the entire proceeding, calling it a “charade” orchestrated by political rivals.

In previous interviews, she denied ordering security forces to fire on civilians, saying, “I categorically deny such allegations. I never told them to fire on unarmed citizens,” though she acknowledged the situation spiralled out of control.Also read: She has also expressed willingness to stand trial internationally, underlining her rejection of what she terms a domestic kangaroo court.

Can Hasina be extradited?

The verdict raises a standoff with India, where Hasina now lives. Bangladesh’s government has invoked the 2013 extradition treaty with New Delhi, demanding Hasina’s handover “as a mandatory obligation”.Dhaka’s foreign ministry warned that sheltering a convicted “mass murderer” would be seen as an unfriendly act. However, that very treaty contains a political-offense exemption: it allows India to refuse extradition if it deems the charges are of a political character. Analysts believe Hasina’s offence will be treated as political; indeed, Indian officials have so far merely “engaged constructively” and given no sign of deporting her.Under the extradition treaty, New Delhi is not obliged to return her. The treaty allows India to refuse extradition if the alleged offences are deemed political or if surrendering the accused would be “unjust or oppressive”. Given the political turmoil surrounding her removal and trial, India could legally decline any request.Hasina may still appeal the conviction through Bangladesh’s Supreme Court.Meanwhile, India has called for dialogue saying that it will continue to engage “constructively” and remains “committed to the best interests of the people of Bangladesh.”

What happened during the ‘2024 student uprising’?

The convictions stem from Bangladesh’s most violent political unrest in decades. What began in July 2024 as a student movement against a quota system for government jobs quickly exploded.Students protested a court decision to reinstate a policy reserving 30% of civil service posts for descendants of 1971 war veterans, a system seen by many as unfair patronage. Thousands of young people took to the streets, soon joined by opposition party members and urban workers. By 19 July the government imposed a curfew and a nationwide internet blackout as the army was called in to suppress the demonstrations. Security forces and ruling-party student militias clashed with protesters in many cities.The unrest then turned violent. Human rights observers estimate hundreds to over a thousand people were killed as police, paramilitaries and even army units fired indiscriminately on protesters. The United Nations fact-finding report later concluded up to 1,400 people may have been killed and thousands wounded during the days of protest, mostly by live ammunition from security forces. Bangladeshi officials initially reported around 800 dead and 14,000 injured.Bangladeshi authorities justified the crackdown by accusing protest leaders of inciting chaos and violence. Prime Minister Hasina publicly branded the movement’s activists as “Razakars” a term for wartime traitors claiming they were being manipulated by the main opposition party (the BNP) and foreign enemies. Government media portrayed protesters as miscreants bent on toppling an elected government. The uprising ultimately led to Hasina’s ouster. On August 5, 2024 Sheikh Hasina resigned under pressure, the army declared a 15-day state of emergency, and a neutral interim government was installed under Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus. The trial of Hasina along with Khan and Al-Mamun became the highest-profile case emerging from what protesters had dubbed the “July Revolution” or “Monsoon Uprising.”

From dominance to exile

Elected in 2009, Hasina’s Awami League won a dominant position in Bangladeshi politics. Under her rule, Bangladesh did see rapid economic growth, expanded infrastructure and social programmes. But critics say those achievements came at the cost of democratic institutions. International observers and local activists say Hasina gradually weakened independent institutions, the media, courts and electoral bodies to stay in power. Election observers reported irregularities in her landslide victories, notably the 2014 and 2018 polls which the main opposition boycotted. A Human Rights Watch report noted that by her third term Hasina’s government had “captured key institutions” and routinely silenced, harassed or even disappeared opposition figures and critics. Freedoms of assembly and speech were severely curtailed, and dissent was often labeled as anti-state activity. The last election she won was declared by critics as neither free nor fair.Her record is inevitably contrasted with that of her father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Mujib revered as Bangladesh’s founding father after leading the independence movement against Pakistan in 1971 served as the country’s first president and later prime minister in 1972-75.

What happened during Mujibur Rahman rule

He was immensely popular for achieving sovereignty, but in his final year his rule turned authoritarian. In 1975 Mujib imposed a one-party “BKSAL” system and suppressed dissent amid economic crisis and famine. His government’s authoritarian turn alarmed many, and on 15 August 1975 Mujib was assassinated in a military coup.Both father and daughter led Bangladesh for lengthy terms and faced enormous political opposition. Both expanded state control over many aspects of life. But Mujib’s overthrow in 1975 highlights the peril in Hasina’s fate: dynastic rule has repeatedly sparked instability. After Mujib’s death, Bangladesh swung through decades of coups and military regimes.Also read:Sheikh Hasina's first reaction after being sentenced to death; calls verdict 'biased'Hasina herself spent years in exile in the 1980s and returned to power in the 1990s to restore democracy. Her political arch-rival, the BNP, is led by another powerful family dynasty, the widow of assassinated President Ziaur Rahman. In Bangladesh, the rivalry of these dynasties (Sheikh versus Zia) has fuelled polarization.His image once loomed over the country’s banknotes, monuments and public memory. But during 'July uprising’’, even such symbols have come under scrutiny: a golden statue of Mujibur Rahman was torn down by protesters after Hasina’s ousting.

Not the first uprising

Bangladesh’s modern history has indeed been a pendulum swing between civilian rule and military power. The country’s story since independence in 1971 is dominated by coups, uprisings and assassinations. Soon after independence, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s assassination in 1975 unleashed a period of purges and counter-coups. A four-day counter-coup by Maj. Gen. Khaled Musharraf was itself overthrown by forces loyal to Major Gen. Ziaur Rahman, who eventually became president. Zia was assassinated in 1981 during an abortive coup. General Hussain Muhammad Ershad seized power in 1982 and ruled as military dictator until 1990, when mass pro-democracy protests forced his resignation.Even after democracy was restored, the army remained a powerful force; it staged a virtual coup in 2007 by backing a technocratic caretaker government (with US and regional support) to break a political deadlock.Throughout these upheavals, the population has suffered repeatedly. Scores of political leaders and hundreds of soldiers have died in the violence of coups. Politics became a zero-sum game between the two main parties Awami League and BNP often with neither side willing to accept defeat or allow an opponent to govern peacefully. Elections themselves have sometimes been spark points for unrest. The only periods of stability have been those carefully negotiated or enforced by consensus for example, the (delayed) scheduled elections under the caretaker system in 1991 and again in 2008.Today’s verdict is the latest in this turbulent saga. It is the harshest punishment ever imposed on a Bangladeshi leader, echoing the fate of Ershad who got 10 years in 1991 for illegal weapons and even Mujib in exile. But it also reflects long-standing problems: political trials, the use of tribunals for settling scores, and the resort to lethal repression.

What’s next

Hasina’s death sentence, pronounced in absentia, leaves many practical questions hanging. India, where she has been living since August 2024.The verdict has provoked both jubilation and unrest in Dhaka. Security was already tightened around the tribunal in the run-up to the announcement. The atmosphere in Dhaka remains tense, with fears that the death sentence could escalate political instability ahead of planned elections in February 2026.One year ago, Sheikh Hasina stood as Bangladesh’s most powerful leader, often described as its “Iron Lady.” Today, she is in exile, convicted of crimes against humanity, and sentenced to death by a tribunal she once controlled.(With inputs from agencies)