Dhaka Courtroom Erupts In Claps, Cheers As Sheikh Hasina Gets Death Penalty

As Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal announced a death penalty for former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the courtroom erupted into loud applause. Many people were seen clapping, smiling, and cheering inside the court, while some made a praying gesture.

A few people were also seen crying.

The applause lasted for a few seconds before the judges requested those present inside to maintain court decorum.

Hasina, 78, was sentenced to death for 'crimes against humanity' committed during last year's anti-government agitation that led to the fall of her Awami League government. The court found Hasina guilty on three counts - incitement, order to kill, and inaction to prevent the atrocities.

"We have decided to inflict her with only one sentence - that is, the sentence of death," Judge Golam Mortuza Mozumder said.

The three-member tribunal, headed by Mozumder, also pronounced the judgment against the 78-year-old leader's aides - ex-home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun - over the same charges.

Hasina and Kamal have been declared fugitives and tried in absentia, while Mamun initially faced trial in person before turning approver.

Under the ICT-BD law, Hasina cannot appeal the verdict unless she returns or is arrested within 30 days.

According to the United Nations, up to 1,400 people were killed in crackdowns as Hasina tried to cling to power.

The former Bangladesh PM fled to India on a self-imposed exile on August 5, 2024, as tens of thousands of violent protesters marched towards her residence in Dhaka and ousted her, ending her 15-year-long tenure. She has since then lived in a secret safe house in Delhi. She had defied the tribunal's orders to face trial for ordering a deadly crackdown on a student-led uprising.