Ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has delivered her first response to the death sentence issued against her by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), describing the verdict as “biased, politically motivated,” and handed down by a “rigged tribunal with no democratic mandate.”
Speaking to India Today TV from New Delhi, where she has lived in exile since 5 August 2024, the 78-year-old leader said she “wholly denies the accusations” and claimed the trial was predetermined from the outset. She criticised the proceedings, which were conducted in her absence, saying she had “no fair chance to defend myself in court or even have lawyers of my choice represent me.”
Hasina argued that the tribunal was neither international nor impartial, accusing it of targeting members of the Awami League while disregarding alleged crimes committed by political opponents.
The ICT convicted her of crimes against humanity, including incitement to violence, issuing orders to kill protesters, and failing to prevent widespread atrocities during last year’s student uprising. Former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan also received a death sentence, while a former police chief was sentenced to five years after turning state witness.
Rejecting the ruling, Hasina claimed that “no respected jurist in the world would endorse the Bangladesh ICT,” alleging the court was being used to eliminate her and dismantle the Awami League as a political force.
She also accused interim leader Muhammad Yunus of taking power “unconstitutionally with the support of extremist elements,” and said protests by students, garment workers, doctors, and teachers had been met with heavy-handed suppression. According to her, peaceful protesters were “shot and killed,” while journalists were harassed and tortured.
Hasina further alleged that Yunus’s forces carried out retaliatory attacks, destroying “hundreds of homes, businesses, and properties belonging to Awami League members.”
Responding to the tribunal’s claims of human rights abuses under her administration, Hasina described the July–August unrest as “a tragedy for our country,” but rejected allegations of premeditated killings. She argued that prosecutors failed to present persuasive evidence linking her to mass violence, adding that government actions were taken “in accordance with domestic and international law to maintain order.”
She challenged the widely cited death toll of 1,400, asserting that the Ministry of Health had confirmed support for “614 families” of victims, and accused prosecutors of relying on coerced, anonymous testimony.
Hasina reiterated her willingness to face trial before a neutral international tribunal, saying she was confident the ICC would acquit her — a process she claims the interim administration is avoiding to escape scrutiny.
The verdict, delivered just months before Bangladesh’s February election — from which the Awami League has already been barred — has heightened political tensions, with observers warning of increased instability ahead.
