Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) on Tuesday made public the full written verdict of death sentence awarded to former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal. This judgment is in a total of 457 pages, in which the entire case, witnesses, events and legal basis are mentioned in detail.
According to local media reports, Dhaka Tribune reported that the tribunal has declared the violence that took place during the ‘Anti-Discrimination Student Movement’ in July-August 2024 as a crime against humanity.
The three-member bench of Tribunal-1 had earlier given the verdict orally on November 17, 2025, while now its complete written order has been officially uploaded on the tribunal’s website.
The tribunal convicted Sheikh Hasina and Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal on two main charges. The first charge relates to three incidents. According to the report of ‘Prothom Alo’, these include the allegation of instigating the protesters by calling them “Razakars” during the press conference at Gana Bhawan on July 14, 2024, instructions to hang students in a conversation with Dhaka University Vice-Chancellor Maqsood Kamal, and the incident of death of student Abu Saeed in police firing in Rangpur. In these cases the tribunal sentenced both the leaders to life imprisonment.
The second charge is also based on three serious incidents. These include allegations of tracking the location of protesters through drones during a phone conversation on July 18, 2024 and ordering the use of lethal weapons from a helicopter, the death of six protesters in police firing in Dhaka’s Chankharpul area on August 5, 2024, and the incident of killing six people and burning their bodies in Ashulia area of Savar. On these charges, the tribunal has sentenced Sheikh Hasina and Kamal to death penalty (hanging).
The tribunal has ordered confiscation of all the properties of the two leaders and their distribution among the victims of July violence. Meanwhile, former Inspector General of Police Chaudhry Abdullah Al-Mamun, who turned government witness, was found guilty in both cases and sentenced to five years in prison.
Tribunal Chairman Justice MD Golam Mortuza Majumdar said Sheikh Hasina had been found guilty on three counts of inciting, ordering murder and failing to prevent atrocities.
Sheikh Hasina, who lives in exile in India, has already described the decision as “biased and politically motivated”. The Bangladesh government has demanded the extradition of Sheikh Hasina and Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal from India.
At the same time, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have strongly condemned this punishment and called it a violation of human rights. Organizations say that the verdict pronounced in the absence of both the leaders is against the principles of fair trial.
The United Nations has also expressed its opposition to the death penalty, saying that justice is necessary for the victims, but death penalty cannot be the solution.
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