Sheikh Hasina slams death sentence as “politically driven” after controversial tribunal verdict

17 November 2025: Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been sentenced to death by the International Crimes Tribunal, which found her guilty of ordering a deadly crackdown on student-led demonstrations last year—unrest that eventually toppled her Awami League government. Hasina, currently living abroad, was tried in absentia.

In the hours leading up to the verdict, the Muhammad Yunus–led interim administration tightened security across Dhaka and other regions, following sporadic clashes and crude bomb attacks as anticipation around the ruling grew.

Reacting to the verdict, Sheikh Hasina called the tribunal,

“rigged” and said it was set up and operated by an “unelected government with no democratic mandate.” She accused the court of being “biased and politically driven,” arguing that the demand for her execution exposes the “brazen, violent intentions of extremist figures within the interim government” who, she claimed, are determined to eliminate Bangladesh’s last elected prime minister and neutralise the Awami League as a political force.

Hasina further said that ordinary Bangladeshis – who are suffering under what she described as the “chaotic, violent and socially regressive governance” of Muhammad Yunus- will not be deceived. According to her, the proceedings of the so-called International Crimes Tribunal were never meant to uncover the truth about the events of July and August 2025. Instead, she said, they were orchestrated to scapegoat the Awami League and distract global attention from the failures of Dr Yunus and his cabinet.

Responding sharply to the verdict, she reiterated that the “politically motivated” trial was designed solely to dismantle democratic opposition.

Meanwhile, Mohammad Ali Arafat, a former Information Minister in Hasina’s cabinet and a close aide, dismissed the entire trial as “scripted” and “sham.” Speaking to NDTV, Arafat claimed that Bangladesh had “fallen into the hands of jihadists,” alleging that Yunus is leading them. He insisted the opposition forces must be politically defeated with public support, accusing the interim authorities of manufacturing narratives to mislead the world and “trying to turn Bangladesh into East Pakistan.”

Arafat emphasised the Awami League’s political strength, noting that the party has more than 20 million active members and played a foundational role in the creation of Bangladesh. He warned that attempts to suppress such a large movement will inevitably trigger a backlash. “It didn’t work in 1971,” he said. “It will not work now.”