Sheikh Hasina sentenced to death in Bangladesh for crimes against humanity

Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) on Monday sentenced ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina and former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to death for crimes against humanity committed during the 2024 July Uprising.

Guilty

An international crimes tribunal made up of three judges found Sheikh Hasina guilty of several crimes, including incitement, orders to kill and inaction to prevent atrocities during protests in July and August last year, which brought down her government. Clashes between protesters and security forces escalated, resulting in over 1,000 deaths and widespread injuries in the weeks leading to Hasina’s ousting.

Bangladesh created the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT-BD) under the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act of 1973. This statute provides the legal foundation for the trials, which is aligned with the nation’s international commitments under the Genocide Convention and the Geneva Conventions. Furthermore, it reflects the complementarity principle of the Rome Statute, which empowers domestic courts to prosecute international crimes when they have the capacity and willingness to do so.

British lawyers acting on behalf of Hasina, had filed an urgent appeal with the UN last week, stating that the trial of Sheikh Hasina is “manifestly unfair.” They argued that proceeding with a death sentence after such a flawed process would amount to a “summary execution”

While the new interim leader of Bangladesh, Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus’s promised accountability, in the aftermath of Hasina’s fall, violent reprisals against her supporters have been reported.

Sheikh Hasina’s historical links to the UK

According to this paper, after India gained independence from Britain in 1947, the partition created significant political and social challenges, especially as India lay geographically between East and West Pakistan, complicating governance and logistics.

The call for independence in 1971 was led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, father of Sheikh Hasina.

Hasina has many international links. Her son, Sajeeb Wajed Joy, is a dual citizen of Bangladesh and the United States. In the United Kingdom, her niece, Tulip Siddiq, is a Labour MP in the UK. Also, her nephew, Radwan Mujib Siddiq, is married to a Finnish national,

In September, Britain’s FT reported that over $200bn was allegedly plundered from Bangladesh during Sheikh Hasina’s time as prime minister – some of which ended up in the UK.

According to the FT in the UK, Siddiq, faced scrutiny over property and family connections which led to her resignation as a City minister in January. She acquired a London flat in her early 20s from a developer linked to Hasina’s government.

Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, Land Minister during Hasina’s government was identified by the FT as the owner of a vast portfolio of over 300 UK properties.

US denies wrongdoing

According to a May 2024 report in The Diplomat, Sheikh Hasina publicly alleged that a “white man,” understood to be from the US, offered her a guaranteed re-election in exchange for allowing a foreign airbase in Bangladesh.

US has denied any wrongdoing. “We have had no involvement at all. Any reports or rumors that the United States government was involved in these events is simply false,” White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said at a press briefing when asked about reported claims of US involvement in Hasina’s August ousting. .

According to The Economist in June, the IMF and ADB have approved multi-billion dollar loans to Bangladesh recently and made some “low hanging fruit” reforms.

“Bangladesh still depends heavily on exports of textiles, has woeful infrastructure and is not creating enough jobs for its youngsters. These issues have grown urgent now that America is waging tariff wars,” according to the Economist.

It also warned that Bangladesh aligning with China could hurt relations with the US. The interim leader, Yunus, was in China in March for his first big bilateral trip, where he “signed a handful of agreements.”

Featured image via the Canary