"Muhammad Yunus Wants Civil War": Sheikh Hasina's Aide After Death Penalty Verdict

The Awami League has slammed the Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus-led interim government in Bangladesh over "staged drama" in what they called a "kangaroo court", after the ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and one of her close aides were sentenced to death by a Dhaka-based International Crimes Tribunal over her crackdown on a student uprising last year that killed hundreds of people and led to the toppling of her 15-year rule.

Awami League leader Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury, a close aide of Hasina who served as a minister in her regime, claimed the verdict against the deposed leader was "pre-written" and she was not given a fair chance to defend herself. He also claimed that Hasina and her Awami League party have the people's support in Bangladesh, as he warned the Yunus regime was pushing the South Asian nation towards a civil war. 

"It was a staged drama. They know that this verdict is not implementable. So they had to give something. They have pre-written the judgement. The tribunal's chairman was not even present in the court for the last month. The court's constitution itself is illegal because the interim regime does not have any legal authority to amend the laws of the tribunal, which they have done in order to put us all on trial in this kangaroo court," Chowdhury said while talking to NDTV. 

Former Bangladesh Minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Calls Sheikh Hasina's Death Sentence A 'Staged Drama' And 'Kangaroo Court'@AdityaRajKaul pic.twitter.com/kkJVx8IEGt

— NDTV (@ndtv) November 17, 2025

He claimed that the Yunus regime followed no standard procedure during Hasina's trial, to the point where she was not even given a chance to choose her representation. 

"We were not allowed to appoint our chosen lawyers there. They had classed us as fugitives. And some of the senior lawyers in Dhaka wanted to fight for our leader, Sheikh Hasina, [but] they were all denied. They were not allowed to go to court. So a trial had taken place where no representation was made on our behalf," Chowdhury said. 

When asked about the future of the Awami League, which has been banned by the Yunus regime from contesting elections in Bangladesh, the former minister claimed his party "still commands the support of the majority of the people."

"Awami League has faced this since 1975. We were banned in the past, and we rose from the ashes. And that's what we will do this time, too," he said, challenging the Yunus government to allow his party to participate in the upcoming elections in February. 

"If these people are so confident in their public support, why don't they allow us to participate in the election? Let the people decide who should be tried and who should be representing them. And in a duly elected parliament, these laws should be ratified, and then trials should take place," he said.

According to Chowdhury, going forward, the Awami League's focus will be to convince people not to take part in the "sham electoral" process that the Yunus government declared.

"People are not with them. We will continue our protest. Our Prime Minister's son, Shajib Wajid, has already said this, that they (the Yunus regime) want to push the country towards civil war. If that is what it is, then let's face it," he said.

The Awami League leader also accused the interim government of having associations with Pakistan-based terror groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad. He questioned why Yunus was "cosying up" to Pakistan and accused the interim chief of supporting regional instability in South Asia.

"Why such cosying up with Pakistan? Why invite Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad's leaders into Bangladesh? Why bring Maulana Fazlur Rahman (a Pakistani Islamic scholar) to Bangladesh? Why bring in ISI officials into Bangladesh? Why bring in Pakistani military officials into Bangladesh? Bangladesh and Pakistan do not have many ties," he said. 

"They want regional instability, and they know that they do not command the support of the majority of the people. So they know there will be chaos. They know there will be violence, which is what they want. In order to keep their legitimacy, in order to continue their grip on power, they want the country to remain unstable. But we will not let that happen. We've seen these kinds of efforts made in the past, and they have not succeeded, and this time also they will not succeed," Chowdhury added.

Hasina's Death Sentence

The International Crimes Tribunal based in Dhaka sentenced Hasina and former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan to death for their involvement in the use of deadly force against protesters.

Hasina and Khan, who fled to India last year, were sentenced in absentia. India has so far declined to extradite them, making it unlikely that they would ever be executed or imprisoned.

Hasina said the charges were unjustified, arguing that she and Khan "acted in good faith and were trying to minimise the loss of life."

"We lost control of the situation, but to characterise what happened as a premeditated assault on citizens is simply to misread the facts," she said Monday in a statement denouncing a verdict she called "biased and politically motivated."

Her Awami League party called for a national shutdown on Tuesday to protest the verdict.

Hasina, 78, cannot appeal the verdict unless she surrenders or is arrested within 30 days of the judgement.