How India will handle the Hasina imbroglio

Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was sentenced to death in absentia on 17 November 2025, by the country’s International Crimes Tribunal.

- PRABHU DAYAL

The tribunal found her guilty of crimes against humanity for her role in a deadly crackdown on student-led protests in July and August 2024, which led to her government's fall.

However, there is significant controversy whether Sheikh Hasina received a fair trial. She and her supporters claim the trial was a “farce,” “rigged,” and politically motivated. Hasina was tried and sentenced to death in absentia because she is living in exile in India and defied court orders to return to Bangladesh. She said that she would only face her accusers in a “proper tribunal”.

Hasina has defied the International Crimes Tribunal’s decision, claiming that the ruling, linked to the student-led protests, was “biased and politically motivated.” She acknowledged the government had lost control of the situation at the time but maintained that the unrest did not amount to a “premeditated” assault on civilians.

Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League party, which has been banned from the upcoming elections, described the tribunal as a “kangaroo court” used for political vengeance by opponents in the current interim government led by Muhammad Yunus.

Sheikh Hasina’s lawyers submitted an appeal to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, citing “serious concerns about the lack of fair trial rights and due process”. Thus, the fairness of the trial is highly contested, with her supporters and international observers highlighting significant concerns.