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The verdict in the case of crimes against humanity against Bangladesh’s former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajid will be announced on November 13, according to the attorney general, with the trial concluding on Thursday.
Hasina, 78, has ignored court orders to return from India to face charges related to allegedly authorizing a brutal crackdown aimed at dismantling a student-led uprising.
“If she truly believed in the justice system, she should have come back,” said Attorney General Md Asaduzzaman during his closing remarks at the nearly five-month-long trial in Dhaka. “She was the prime minister but fled, abandoning the nation—her escape supports the allegations against her.”
Her trial in absentia, begun on June 1, involved extensive testimony accusing Hasina of ordering mass murders. The United Nations estimates that approximately 1,400 individuals lost their lives between July and August 2024 during anti-government protests.
Prosecutors have lodged five charges, including failing to prevent murders—classified as crimes against humanity under Bangladeshi law—and are seeking the death penalty if she is convicted.
Chief Prosecutor Tajul Islam accused Hasina of being the central figure behind the crimes committed during the uprising. Her co-defendants include former Interior Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, who is also a fugitive, and former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, who has pleaded guilty and is in custody.
Witnesses recounted harrowing experiences, such as a man whose face was torn apart by gunfire. The prosecution presented audio recordings—verified by police—that reportedly show Hasina giving direct orders to security forces to use lethal force against protesters.
Hasina, who has appointed a government lawyer to represent her, has refused to recognize the court’s authority. Her defense lawyer, Md Amir Hossain, claimed she was “forced to flee” Bangladesh, alleging she “preferred death and burial within her residence.”
Her now-banned party, the Awami League, firmly denies all charges and dismisses the proceedings as “nothing more than a show trial.” The attorney general maintains the trial was fair and aimed at delivering justice for all victims.
“We seek justice for both sides in this crimes against humanity case, which claimed 1,400 lives,” he said, mentioning several victims, including children.
The verdict will be delivered three months before elections anticipated in early February 2026—the first since Hasina’s ouster.
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