Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) found ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina guilty of crimes against humanity and held her accountable for the violence and deaths that took place during last year’s student movement. The ICT sentenced her to death.
After this verdict, there is a serious threat to Sheikh Hasina’s party, the Bangladesh Awami League. Questions are now being raised about what options are left for the former prime minister and her party to secure their political future.
She has the option to appeal against the ICT verdict, but the conditions are very tough. Under Section 21 of the ICT law, a convict facing a death sentence must surrender in court or get herself arrested within 30 days of the ICT’s verdict. The convict can make an appeal at the Appellate Division of Bangladesh’s Supreme Court after fulfilling these conditions.
In Sheikh Hasina’s case, 17 December 2025 will be the deadline for her to either surrender before a Bangladeshi court or get herself arrested by this date. If she does not take any decision or move on the order within the stipulated time, her legal right to appeal will automatically end, and the death sentence will become final.
The Bangladesh Supreme Court is required to deliver a verdict on an appeal within 60 days, which means that in Hasina’s case, the final date for the decision would be 15 February 2026.
Sheikh Hasina has already rejected the ICT, terming it a “fraud and a puppet” court. It is highly unlikely that she would get herself arrested or surrender in a Bangladesh court, as she has taken shelter in India. If this does not happen, Sheikh Hasina will never return to her political career, and all options to challenge the ban on her political party, the Awami League, will be closed.
She called the verdict “illegal, biased, and politically motivated.” She said the verdict was delivered by a tribunal that has no mandate and is a so-called court. Notably, Sheikh Hasina had to flee the nation on August 5, 2024, after violence erupted during student movements across the country.
Hasina added, “This same court was used to try the war criminals who undermined our fight for independence in 1971. There is no other motive than the personal pursuit of revenge against a democratically elected government that upheld the nation’s independence and sovereignty.”
