She deserves to be sentenced to death 1,400 times: Prosecutor demands execution of ousted Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina

Chief Prosecutor Tajul Islam told International Crimes Tribunal-1 that Hasina’s directives and actions were central to a series of crimes that left more than 1,400 people dead and between 25,000 and 35,000 injured during the week-long violence between July and August 2024, which involved students, activists, and civilians, The Daily Star reported.

“The highest punishment under the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act is death — Hasina deserves the highest punishment,” Islam said, concluding his five-day argument in the case against Hasina, former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, and ex-Inspector General of Police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun.

The prosecutor added: “Hasina killed at least 1,400 people — she deserves to be sentenced to death 1,400 times. Though that is legally impossible, justice will only be served if she is handed the highest punishment.”

Islam described Hasina as a hardened criminal, citing extrajudicial killings and the discovery of secret detention centers, known as Aynaghars, where dissidents were confined and killed.

The 2024 uprising, according to the UN, left as many as 1,400 people dead in just 46 days, with the majority killed by security forces. Thousands more were injured, including children; UN reports indicate that 12–13% of those killed were minors. Bangladesh Police also reported 44 officers were killed during the unrest.

The protests began over job quota issues but quickly escalated into nationwide demonstrations against Hasina, who had ruled Bangladesh for 15 consecutive years and won re-election in January 2024. She fled to India on August 5, 2024, amid one of the deadliest periods in the country since its independence in 1971.

Bangladesh is scheduled to hold general elections in February 2025. Hasina’s political rival, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), is currently the frontrunner. The Awami League, the country’s longest-serving political party, has been banned from all political activities, including contesting the upcoming elections, ending its immediate hopes of returning to power.