New Delhi, September 15 (Daily Kiran) : The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh has handed down sentences to 68 individuals linked to violent student-led protests that occurred in July and August 2024. Among those sentenced, 22 have received the death penalty for their roles in seven cases involving alleged murder, incitement, and conspiracy.
In a recent ruling, Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader and six others were sentenced to death. Reports indicate that 18 of those facing capital punishment are currently at large, while four are in custody.
Notable figures among the condemned include former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, ex-Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, senior leaders of the Awami League, and several police officials. Eleven of the sentenced individuals are affiliated with the Awami League or its associated organizations, while the remainder are police officers.
Sheikh Hasina and Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal had previously been sentenced to death on November 17 of last year, tried in absentia. Additionally, former Inspector General of Police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, who became a government witness, received a five-year prison sentence.
The tribunal’s recent verdict includes sentences for three former senior police officials, including the former Commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police and his deputy. Five other police officers received prison terms ranging from three to six years.
The student protests of 2024 marked a significant turning point, challenging Hasina’s long-standing grip on power and igniting widespread demonstrations against corruption and authoritarian rule. The protests rapidly spread across the country, drawing thousands into the streets, prompting security forces to respond violently with live ammunition.
This upheaval ultimately led to Hasina’s exile and a subsequent death sentence from the ICT. Reports suggest that the unrest, fueled by anger over corruption and dictatorship, resulted in the deaths of over 1,400 individuals and transformed the political landscape of Bangladesh. Following the protests, the Awami League faced a ban, while Hasina fled the country out of fear of retribution.
In February of this year, Bangladesh held general elections, resulting in the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by Tarique Rahman, coming to power. Established in 2009, the ICT serves as a domestic tribunal for war crimes, initially aimed at investigating atrocities committed during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.
The tribunal was formed after the Awami League’s decisive victory in the December 2008 elections, which secured more than a two-thirds majority. It first brought charges in 2010, although many of the primary perpetrators, including Pakistani soldiers, remain beyond the court’s reach.
By 2012, several leaders from the largest Islamic party, Jamaat-e-Islami, and two from the BNP had been charged with war crimes. The first individual convicted, Abul Kalam Azad, was sentenced to death in January 2013 while he was absent from the country.
Following the 2024 student-led uprising, the tribunal’s role and jurisdiction were re-evaluated, addressing new allegations of state violence and widespread atrocities. Significant amendments to the ICT Act were made in November 2024, aimed at modernizing and expanding the tribunal’s jurisdiction retroactively.
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