Ousted Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was sentenced to death by the International Crimes Trubinal in Bangladesh on Monday for “crimes against humanity”, more than a year after she fled to India amid violent student protests demanding her resignation.
Hasina, who ruled Bangladesh for 15 years, fled to India after violent student protests in July and August last year that killed hundreds of protesters and injured thousands more. A Bangladeshi student protest last year marked the downfall of Sheikh Hasina and set off a chain of events that eventually culminated in the ousted prime minister’s death sentence.
Read also | Bangladesh asks India to hand over ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina
Sheikh Hasina sentenced to death: Timeline of events
July–August 2024: The students are protesting against the government’s job quotas, which reserve one-third of civil service posts to descendants of the Mukti Yodhas who fought in the 1971 independence war. The protests turn violent after the government reportedly orders a crackdown on protesters calling for Sheikh Hasina’s resignation. Hundreds of protesters are killed and thousands more are injured.
August 5, 2024: Sheikh Hasina is ousted as Prime Minister as she resigns and flees to India. Protesters storm the prime minister’s residence and celebrate their victory.
Read also | Sheikh Hasina Verdict LIVE: Ousted PM gets death sentence, reacts
August 8, 2024: Students elect Mohammad Yunus as head of the interim government until elections are held in Bangladesh.
August 14, 2024: The interim government led by Yunus says it will bring to justice those involved in the killings during the ICT Bangladesh student movement.
October 2024: ICT-BD is restored by the interim government.
October 17, 2024: An ICT court in Bangladesh issues arrest warrants for ousted Prime Minister Hasina and 45 others, including top Awami League leaders, in connection with alleged crimes against humanity.
November 2024: The ICT-BD, headed by Golam Mortuza Majumdar, directs the investigators to complete the investigation by December of that year.
February 2025: A United Nations fact-finding report states that approximately 1,400 people were killed during the protest.
June 1, 2025: Court officially opens. Sheikh Hasina faces allegations of coordinated and systematic violence against unarmed civilians.
Read also | Sheikh Hasina’s death sentence — Charges against ousted Bangladesh prime minister
June 19, 2025: ICT appointed former Supreme Court judge AY Moshiuzzaman as amicus curiae to defend Hasina.
July 2, 2025: Sheikh Hasina is sentenced in absentia to six months in prison for contempt of court.
July 10, 2025: The ICT has formally charged Hasina, former interior minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun with five crimes against humanity, including mass murder.
August 3, 2025: The trial against Sheikh Hasina and her two aides begins at VŠCHT.
October 23, 2025: The trial of the case is finished in court.
November 13, 2025: VŠCHT sets the date of the verdict on November 17.
November 17, 2025: The ICT convicts Sheikh Hasina and former Home Minister Kamal of crimes against humanity and sentences them to death. Mamun, who turned state witness, was sentenced to five years in prison in the case.
