A Bangladesh court on Tuesday sentenced seven aides of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina to death over crimes against humanity committed during the 2024 uprising that toppled her government.
A three-member International Crimes Tribunal in Dhaka, led by Justice Nazrul Islam Chowdhury, delivered the verdicts.
All seven convicts are fugitives and living in self-imposed exile in India or the United States.
Senior Awami League figures among convicts
Those sentenced to death include former Awami League Secretary-General Obaidul Quader, former state minister for information Mohammad Ali Arafat, Joint General Secretary AFM Bahauddin Nasim, youth wing Chairman Sheikh Fazle Shams Parash and General Secretary Moinul Hossain Nikhil.
Student wing President Saddam Hussain and General Secretary Sheikh Wali Asif Enan were also sentenced to death.
The tribunal ordered the confiscation of half the assets belonging to Quader, Nasim, Arafat and Parash. The seized assets will be distributed as compensation to families of people killed or injured during the uprising, according to the verdict.
Death toll from 2024 uprising
Hasina herself was sentenced to death in absentia by the same tribunal last November for crimes against humanity and her role in the crackdown during the uprising.
At least 1,400 people were killed and thousands injured during the unrest, according to the United Nations, as security forces and supporters of Hasina’s Awami League moved to suppress the protests.
Hasina fled to neighbouring India after her government was ousted and remains there in self-imposed exile. She has said she plans to return to Bangladesh in December.
Across seven verdicts issued by Bangladesh’s two international crimes tribunals, 68 defendants have been convicted and 22 sentenced to death. Eighteen defendants remain at large, while four are in custody.
