Ousted prime minister is sentenced to death

SHEIKH Hasina, Bangladesh's ousted prime minister, has been sentenced to death by a tribunal on charges of crimes against humanity, following her crackdown on a student uprising last year that killed hundreds of people and led to the toppling of her 15-year rule.

- JULHAS ALAM Associated Press

The Dhaka-based International Crimes Tribunal also sentenced Bangladesh's former home minister, Asaduzzaman Khan, to death for his involvement in the use of deadly force against protesters.

Both Hasina and Khan fled to India last year and were sentenced in absentia. A third suspect, a former police chief, was sentenced to five years in prison after becoming a state witness against Hasina and pleading guilty.

Hasina and Khan were accused over the killing of hundreds of people during a student-led uprising in July and August 2024.

The country’s health department under the current interim government said more than 800 people were killed and about 14,000 people were injured. However, the United Nations, in a report in February this year, said up to 1,400 people may have been killed.