NEW DELHI: The International Crimes Tribunal, set up during Awami League's rule in Bangladesh under the leadership of PM Sheikh Hasina, has sentenced her to death, concluding a protracted trial that found her guilty of orchestrating a deadly crackdown on a student-led uprising in July last year.

The judgment marks one of the most dramatic legal actions against a former Bangladeshi leader in decades and comes just months before parliamentary elections expected in early February. With Hasina’s Awami League already barred from contesting the polls, the ruling has raised concerns about renewed political unrest in the lead-up to the vote.

The International Crimes Tribunal in Dhaka delivered the verdict under heavy security and in Hasina’s absence, as she has been in India since fleeing the country in August 2024. The court handed her a life sentence for crimes against humanity and a death sentence for the killing of several people during the uprising.

The pronouncement of the death penalty was met with cheers and applause inside the courtroom. Under Bangladeshi law, the ruling may be appealed before the Supreme Court.