The International Crimes Tribunal-1 on Monday (November 17) convicted ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, and former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun on all five charges brought against them for crimes against humanity during the 2024 July uprising. The tribunal delivered a mix of death, life, and short-term sentences after finding every allegation proven.

The tribunal said the five charges were grouped into three counts to determine sentencing, based on the nature of the crimes and the level of responsibility of each defendant.

Sheikh Hasina received a life sentence on the first count after the tribunal found her “superior responsibility” established. Judges said she ordered the crimes and failed to prevent them, ruling that she will serve “imprisonment till natural death.”

On three other charges, she received death sentences. One count found she ordered the use of helicopters, drones, and lethal weapons to “kill and eliminate” protesters. Another addressed the August 5 killings of six people in Dhaka’s Chankharpul area. A separate charge focused on the killing of six people in Ashulia, where the bodies were burned, including one victim who was burned alive.

Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal was sentenced to death for his role in the Chankharpul shootings and the Ashulia killings. The tribunal held him responsible for the deaths alongside the former prime minister.

Former IGP Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, the only defendant arrested and an approver, was found guilty on all charges. The tribunal noted that he was “deserving of the highest punishment” because of the scale of the atrocities and his direct role. But his decision to become a state witness and provide full disclosure helped the tribunal “make the case meaningful,” earning him the minimum sentence of five years.

This is the first verdict in a case linked to killings and other human rights violations during the nationwide student-led protests in July 2024.

The three-member panel, led by Chairman Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder, delivered the ruling. The other judges are Justice Shafiul Alam Mahmood and Justice Mohitul Haque Enam Chowdhury.

Meanwhile, Dhaka today urged New Delhi to immediately hand over fugitive convicts Sheikh Hasina and Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, stressing that the step is India’s treaty-bound obligation.

A foreign ministry statement noted that the existing bilateral extradition agreement between Bangladesh and India marks the transfer of the two convicts as a compulsory responsibility for New Delhi.

The foreign ministry added that granting shelter to individuals convicted of crimes against humanity would be considered an unfriendly act and a disregard for justice.