Bangladesh sentences to death seven key aides of ousted premier Hasina

A local court in Bangladesh on Tuesday handed down the death penalty to seven aides of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, on charges of crimes against humanity committed during the 2024 monsoon uprising. A three-member Dhaka-based International Crimes Tribunal, led by Justice Nazrul Islam Chowdhury, delivered the verdict. All seven convicts are currently fugitives and in self-exile in India and the United States. The convicts include Hasina's Awami League party General Secretary Obaidul Quader, former state minister for information Mohammad Ali Arafat, Joint General Secretary AFM Bahauddin Nasim, party Youth Wing Chairman Sheikh Fazle Shams Parash and General Secretary Moinul Hossain Nikhil, Student Wing President Saddam Hussain and General Secretary Sheikh Wali Asif Enan. Read: Bangladesh's Sheikh Hasina loses right to appeal death sentence: prosecutor The verdict also ordered the confiscation of half the assets belonging to Quader, Nasim, Arafat and Parash. The tribunal further directed that the confiscated assets will be distributed as compensation to the families of the July victims who died and were injured. Last November, Hasina was also sentenced to death by the same tribunal for crimes against humanity and for her role in a brutal crackdown during the 2024 uprising that ousted her government. At least 1,400 people were killed, and thousands were injured in the uprising by Hasina’s security forces and supporters of her Awami League party, according to the United Nations. Hasina is in self-imposed exile, living in neighbouring India after fleeing the country. However, she has vowed to return to Bangladesh this December. Across seven verdicts delivered by the two tribunals, 68 accused individuals have been convicted, and 22 sentenced to death. Of the accused, 18 remain at large, while four are currently in custody.