New Delhi: After Bangladesh's three-member special crimes tribunal sentenced former prime minister Sheikh Hasina to death on Monday for “crimes against humanity” during the July uprising, Dhaka has formally asked for India to immediately hand her over under the extradition treaty

Hasina, 78, who has been in India since fleeing Bangladesh last August, was found guilty on multiple charges. “For all these three counts we have decided to inflict upon her only one sentence: the sentence of death,” the judge said, following which the courtroom erupted in claps and cheers.

The case concerns accusations of crimes against humanity during the July 2024 street protests that toppled Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government on August 5 last year. It is the first verdict from the reconstituted tribunal on the violence during the uprising.

The court also confiscated the properties of the two main accused, Sheikh Hasina and former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal.

Soon after the order, the Bangladesh foreign ministry posted a press release in Bangla that the convictions meant no country should consider offering asylum to the two Awami League leaders. It said it would be “a grave inhumane act and a miscarriage of justice” for any state to shelter individuals convicted of crimes against humanity, adding that Dhaka was calling on New Delhi to “immediately” hand them over under the extradition treaty in force between the two neighbours.

In India’s first reaction, the Union external affairs ministry gave a short statement that it had “noted” the verdict. 

“As a close neighbour, India remains committed to the best interests of the people of Bangladesh, including in peace, democracy, inclusion and stability in that country. We will always engage constructively with all stakeholders to that end,” it stated.

The judgement was delivered by the three-member International Crimes Tribunal-1 in Dhaka, a domestic Bangladeshi court despite its name. The bench, led by Justice Golam Mortuza Mozumdar, read selected portions of its 453-page ruling in the packed open court, with proceedings broadcast live on state television.

The tribunal was set up by Sheikh Hasina in 2009 to handle cases linked to the 1971 Liberation War, handing down verdicts in 55 cases over the past decade and a half. After Hasina’s fall last year, the reconstituted bench shifted its focus to violence and alleged abuses during her 15 years in power, particularly the July 2024 killings.

In this case, Sheikh Hasina, Kamal and former Inspector General of Police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun were charged with five counts, including murder, attempted murder, torture and other inhumane acts. Prosecutors also accused them of issuing or facilitating orders for the use of lethal weapons, drones and helicopters to suppress student protesters.

The indictment also covers the killing of Begum Rokeya University student Abu Sayed, the shooting of six unarmed protesters in Dhaka’s Chankharpul area, and the burning deaths of five others in Ashulia. Prosecutors alleged that law enforcement and Awami League-affiliated armed cadres acted on instructions from the country’s leadership.

While both Sheikh Hasina and Khan were sentenced to death, Mamun got a reduced punishment of five years.

Hasina and Asaduzzaman have been living in India since their ouster and did not appear before the tribunal, which had ordered them to return to face trial. Mamun is the only accused in custody. He pleaded guilty, testified as a state witness, and told the court that Hasina had “directly ordered” the use of lethal force.

Bangladesh had already asked India in December 2024 to extradite Sheikh Hasina.

India has not responded to the request, with foreign secretary Vikram Misri telling visiting Bangladeshi reporters last month that the matter required "engagement and consultations" between the two governments.

There had been no indication earlier that India was considering handing over Hasina or other Awami League leaders who have been staying in India. The situation remains unchanged after Monday’s sentencing.

“This verdict does not change anything at all as far as her stay in India is concerned. India is not going to get pressured because everybody knows it was a political spectacle. So, it really makes no change for India,” India’s former high commissioner to Dhaka, Riva Ganguly Das told The Wire.

Incidentally, the bilateral extradition treaty contains a provision that allows a country to refuse an extradition request if it is “of a political character”.

Diplomatic sources noted that the statement issued by the Bangladesh foreign ministry was only in Bengali, which suggested that it was aimed at the domestic audience.

Bangladesh’s foreign affairs adviser Mohammed Touhid Hossain said that a letter will be sent to New Delhi soon. “Whether the letter goes tonight or tomorrow, it will certainly go,” he told reporters.

Asked what Dhaka would do if India refuses to hand over Sheikh Hasina, he said, “We will address that situation when it arises.”

According to the Tribunal investigators, at least 1,500 civilians and students were killed and 30,000 injured in July-August 2024. Prosecutors sought the maximum punishment prescribed under Bangladeshi law, as well as confiscation of the accused’s assets for distribution to victims’ families. State-appointed defence lawyers argued that the charges had not been proven and sought acquittal.

In a five-page statement, Sheikh Hasina rejected the ruling and said the proceedings had been designed to eliminate her politically. 

“The verdicts announced against me have been made by a rigged tribunal established and presided over by an unelected government with no democratic mandate,” she wrote, asserting that she had been denied the chance to defend herself or appoint lawyers of her choice.

She said the tribunal was neither international nor impartial and argued that it had prosecuted only Awami League members while ignoring documented violence by other groups. She also challenged the interim government to take the case to the Rome-based International Criminal Court, stating that “the ICC would acquit me” and accusing the authorities of blocking any independent scrutiny of their own human rights record.

Bangladesh chief advisor Muhammad Yunus stated the conviction affirms that “no one no one, regardless of power, is above the law”. He added that the verdict “verdict offers vital, if insufficient, justice to the thousands harmed in the uprising of July and August 2024, and to the families who still carry their loss”.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party, currently the largest active political party in the country since the Awami League’s ban, welcomed the ruling. BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir wrote on Facebook that the verdict marked “the burial of all forms of dictatorship on the soil of this country”. He added that the judgement was not only about Hasina but also reflected a wider shift “in the struggle for democratic rights in Bangladesh”.

Jamaat-e-Islami also welcomed the ruling and demanded that India repatriate Sheikh Hasina without delay, noting that she has been living in India since August last year. The party said her “immediate return” was essential following the tribunal’s decision.

The National Citizens’ Party voiced a similar position, calling for Hasina’s swift return from India and stating that it would be satisfied only when the death sentence handed down by the tribunal is carried out. The party said the verdict should be implemented without hesitation.

Ahead of the tribunal’s order, Dhaka authorities imposed tight security in and around the tribunal complex ahead of the verdict. The Daily Star reported that a four-layer security cordon was deployed, involving the army, Border Guard Bangladesh, Rapid Action Battalion, police and the Armed Police Battalion. Law enforcers restricted all vehicular movement on the road between the high court gate and Doyel Chattar, and everyone entering the court precincts was being checked.

Checkposts were also set up at key entry points and intersections across the city, including on the Dhaka-Mawa highway from Postogola to Dholairpar. Police were stopping motorcycles and other vehicles to verify identities and examine documents, while additional forces remained on standby to prevent any untoward situation.

But even before the court had started to read out its judgement, security forces had to use batons and sounds grenades to disperse protestors who gathered with two bulldozers near ‘Dhanmondi 32’ to demolish the remaining standing portion of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s house.

According to media reports, slogans raised by protestors included “Delhi na Dhaka? Dhaka, Dhaka! (Delhi or Dhaka? Dhaka, Dhaka!)”, “Bottrish na Chhottrish? Chhottrish, Chhottrish! (“Thirty two or thirty six? Thirty six, thirty six!)”, “Dalali na Mukti? Mukti, Mukti! (Collaboration or freedom? Freedom, freedom!)”, and “Khuni Hasinar Fashi Chai (We want the hanging of killer Hasina)”.

In February this year, protestors had dismantled a large section of the house using an excavator following a Facebook-organised event.

Shortly after the tribunal was reconstituted by the post-August Mohammad Yunus acting government, the first case against Sheikh Hasina was filed in Oct 17 last year. Formal charges were submitted on June 1, and the court framed charges on July 10. Trial proceedings opened on Aug 4 with testimony from the first prosecution witness, a survivor of the uprising.

Fifty-four witnesses testified, including Mamun and the investigation officer. Closing arguments ended on October 23, after which the tribunal fixed November 17 for the verdict.

Under tribunal law, a convicted person must surrender before filing an appeal within 30 days. Prosecutors have said absconding accused cannot seek appellate relief unless they appear before the court voluntarily or are arrested.

Bangladesh Police’s National Central Bureau earlier applied to Interpol for a Red Notice against Hasina. 

However, progress on earlier applications for Red Notices has been limited. Bangladeshi paper The Business Standard reported last month that police sought Red Notices for 28 individuals linked to the July 2024 crackdown, but Interpol has issued only four so far, with little movement on the remaining requests. Many appear to have stalled during Interpol’s internal political and human-rights reviews, and in some cases Dhaka’s announcements have not matched Interpol’s public listings.

Prosecutors said that if she is convicted, they intend to request a “conviction warrant” to support renewed efforts for such a notice.

This is one of four cases against Hasina at the tribunal. She also faces two cases involving enforced disappearances during her tenure, and another relating to the killing and torture of Hefazat-e-Islam activists during the 2013 Shapla Chattar operation. The next hearings in the disappearance cases are scheduled for November 23, while investigators have until January 12 to file their report in the Shapla Chattar matter.

In July this year, the tribunal sentenced Hasina to six months’ simple imprisonment for contempt of court over remarks made in a phone conversation that prosecutors said attempted to obstruct judicial proceedings.

This article has been updated with newer developments.

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