Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) on Tuesday sentenced seven senior Awami League leaders, including party General Secretary Obaidul Quader, to death for crimes against humanity linked to the student-led uprising that led to the fall of then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government in 2024.
The verdict comes months ahead of former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s announced return to Dhaka in December.
The tribunal said the charges against the seven had been established and imposed the death penalty. Besides Obaidul Quader, those sentenced to death are Awami League Joint General Secretary Bahauddin Nasim; former State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Mohammad Ali Arafat; Jubo League President Sheikh Fazle Shams Parash and its General Secretary Mainul Hossain Khan Nikhil; and Chhatra League President Saddam Hossain and General Secretary Sheikh Wali Asif Enan.
Hasina fled to India after fall of government
The cases relate to the violence during the student-led uprising against the Hasina government in July-August 2024. Hasina, 78, fled to India on August 5, 2024, after her government fell amid the mass student-led uprising.
The seven leaders faced charges including murder, incitement to violence and incitement to murder linked to the crackdown on the movement, according to the tribunal. Former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun were also accused alongside Hasina.
