A special tribunal has sentenced former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to death in connection with the alleged 'crimes against humanity' committed during last year's anti-government agitation that led to the fall of her Awami League government. Hasina has been declared a fugitive and tried in absentia.
Under the ICT-BD law, Hasina cannot appeal the verdict unless she returns or is arrested within 30 days.
The three-member tribunal, headed by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Majumder, also pronounced the judgement 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.
Security has been tightened across the country, with police in Dhaka reportedly authorised to shoot protestors "who show intent to kill."
A Timeline Of The Crisis
The year-long turmoil began in June 2024, when the High Court reinstated the controversial civil-service quota system, particularly a 30 per cent quota for descendants of 1971 war veterans. Students came out on the streets to register their disapproval of the order.
By early July, campuses and major intersections in Dhaka saw massive sit-ins. Tensions sharpened when Hasina labelled protesting students “Razakars”, a term associated with traitors in the Liberation War.
Clashes broke out between protesters and ruling-party student groups. Curfews, internet shutdowns, and security deployments followed. Up to 1,400 people were killed on orders of Sheikh Hasina between July 15 and August 15 in what became known as the “July Uprising,” according to a February 2025 UN rights report.
The Supreme Court scaled down quotas on July 21, recommending 93 per cent merit-based recruitment. Yet protests expanded, demanding justice for the dead and eventually Hasina's resignation.
On August 4, nearly 100 people were killed in a single day of crackdowns. The next morning, Hasina resigned and fled the country. The Parliament was dissolved. Within days, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus was selected to lead an interim government after talks between student leaders, the military, and the presidency.
Bangladesh Under Muhammad Yunus
Since August 2024, Yunus has led Bangladesh through the most ambitious and volatile transitional period in its history. Ten months in, the picture is mixed: progress on reforms, but deep economic and political instability.
Hasina left behind impressive growth numbers: strong garment exports, rising GDP per capita, and heavy infrastructure expansion. Beneath the surface lay severe problems:
- High youth unemployment (83 per cent of unemployed were 15-29)
- Inflation soaring to 11.7 per cent
- Heavy informal employment
- A garment sector shaken by protests and curfews
- A “white paper” revealing Rs 20,500 crore in illicit financial outflows, inflated project costs, and corruption, according to local media.
Yunus prioritised reforms, appointing new technocrats, shaking up the banking sector, and recovering bad loans. Inflation has reportedly eased to 9.05 per cent, and exports have rebounded but youth unemployment remains severe, 2.1 million jobs were lost, and garment workers have seen no wage increases.
Yunus's government is unelected, which fuels legitimacy issues. Still, it has:
- Reopened human rights commissions
- Emptied secret detention centres
- Charged senior police officers for past abuses
- Begun judiciary and security-sector reforms
- Proposed a July Charter for constitutional change (to be voted on with the 2026 election)
Tensions remain still. Civil servants protested a new ordinance allowing quick dismissals, teachers held strikes, and journalists report harassment.
Groups like Jamaat-e-Islami have risen. Religious minorities face increased harassment, and clashes such as the July 2025 violence in Gopalganj, show lingering instability.
Perhaps the most change is Bangladesh's geopolitical realignment:
- Relations with Pakistan reopened for the first time in decades.
- Deepened ties with China, including about Rs 18,270 crore in loans and the establishment of a major industrial zone in Chattogram.
- A formal statement opposing “Taiwan independence” for the first time.
- Result: severe strain with India, which has restricted visas, ports, and imports.
Yunus also faces challenges with the US, Bangladesh's top export market, as tariff negotiations remain tense.
Where Bangladesh Stands Now
Bangladesh's interim government has restored some macroeconomic stability: lower inflation, stronger exports, an IMF-backed reform path.
Still,
- GDP growth is forecast to fall to 3.3 per cent, as per the World Bank.
- Up to three million people may fall into poverty in 2025
- Political unrest continues around reform demands and election timelines
- Groups and pro-Hasina factions are reasserting themselves
- Foreign policy shifts complicate economic stability
National elections are scheduled for April 2026, alongside a referendum on sweeping constitutional reforms.
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