Interim government of Bangladesh denies trial is politically motivated

Monday, 17 November 2025

A spokesperson for the interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, which took over after Hasina’s 15 straight years in power ended, denied the trial was politically motivated, saying the court “functioned transparently, allowing observers and publishing regular documentation”.

Hasina was assigned a state-appointed lawyer for the trial, but she refused to recognise the court’s authority and said she rejected all charges. In a written interview with the AFP news agency in October, she said a guilty verdict was “preordained”, and that she would “not be surprised when it comes”.

Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry also summoned India’s envoy to Dhaka this month, demanding that New Delhi block the “notorious fugitive” Hasina from talking to journalists and stop “granting her a platform to spew hatred”.

The court says the attacks during the student protests last year were “directed against the civilian population”, and “widespread and systematic”.

“Therefore, in the atrocities of killing and gravely injuring protesters, as aforesaid, accused Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina committed crimes against humanity by her incitement order and also failure to take preventive and punitive measures under Charge 1,” it says.

“Accused Sheikh Hasina committed one count of crimes against humanity by her order to use drones, helicopters and lethal weapons under Charge number 2,” the court adds.

The special tribunal sentenced the toppled Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to death, concluding a months-long trial that found her guilty of ordering a deadly crackdown on a student-led uprising last year.

Live footage shows people in the courtroom cheering and clapping as the court issued the death sentence for Hasina.

According to a United Nations report, up to 1,400 people may have been killed during the protests between July 15 and August 5, 2024, with thousands more injured – most of them by gunfire from security forces – in what was the worst violence in Bangladesh since its 1971 war of independence.

During the trial, prosecutors told the court they had uncovered evidence of Hasina’s direct command to use lethal force to suppress the student-led uprising.

Bangladesh has been tense before the verdict, with at least 30 crude bomb explosions and 26 vehicles torched across the country over the past few days.

The interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus has called the death sentence for former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina a “historic verdict”.

It also warned that any attempt to create chaos and disorder would be dealt with strictly. “We urge people to remain calm, restrained and responsible,” it said.

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