Bangladesh hands death sentences to 7 aides of ousted Prime Minister Hasina

What the report says

A tribunal in Dhaka has sentenced seven senior figures linked to Bangladesh’s ousted former prime minister Sheikh Hasina to death in absentia over their roles in the crackdown on the country’s 2024 uprising, according to Al Jazeera. The men are members of Hasina’s Awami League and were convicted of crimes against humanity, including murder, as well as instigating and provoking killings.

The court, led by Justice Nazrul Islam Chowdhury, announced the decision on Tuesday. Those named include former state minister for information and broadcasting Mohammad Ali Arafat and Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader, along with AFM Bahauddin Nasim, Sheikh Fazle Shams Parash, Mainul Hossain Khan Nikhil, Saddam Hussain and Sheikh Wali Asif Enan. A state-appointed defence lawyer argued that the defendants were not directly involved in the killings and said a lesser sentence should have been considered.

Al Jazeera reported that 68 people have now been convicted in cases tied to the crackdown, and 22 have received death sentences. The tribunal also ordered that half of the assets of the five other convicted men be confiscated and used as compensation for families of those killed or injured. The reporting cites United Nations estimates that up to 1,400 people were killed and thousands injured during the uprising.

The verdict follows an earlier death sentence for Hasina herself, who was sentenced last November and has since lived in exile in India. The case remains significant because it reflects the continuing legal reckoning over the violent suppression of the uprising and the political fallout for Bangladesh’s former ruling party.