Bangladesh tribunal sentences Hasina-era minister Hanif to death in absentia
Awami League joint general secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif was convicted over six killings in Kushtia during the 2024 uprising.
A special tribunal in Bangladesh on Thursday sentenced Mahbubul Alam Hanif to death in absentia over the killing of six people in western Kushtia district during the 2024 student-led uprising. Hanif is joint general secretary of Sheikh Hasina's Awami League and served as a minister in her government.
Three other Awami League leaders were convicted on the same charges. The Straits Times and CNA, both carrying an AFP report, said the three received life imprisonment. The Hindu reported their sentence as "imprisonment until death", identified them as leaders of the party's district unit and said all four men are absconding.
According to The Hindu, Justice Nozrul Islam Chowdhury led the three-member tribunal, with Justices Md. Manjurul Bashid and Nur Mohammad Shahriar Kabir. "He will be hanged until death," Chowdhury ruled. The tribunal also ordered half the men's property confiscated. Chief prosecutor Md Aminul Islam said the seized immovable property would go as compensation to families of people killed or injured in the uprising, AFP reported.
"The charges against the convicts were undoubtedly proved," Islam told reporters. The Hindu quoted him calling the verdict "very timely". State-appointed defence lawyer Md Amir Hossain called it "unacceptable".
The uprising ended Hasina's 15-year rule in August 2024, when she fled to India. The Hindu gave the date as August 5. AFP cited United Nations figures showing as many as 1,400 people were killed between July and August 2024 as her government tried to suppress the protests. Hasina was sentenced to death in absentia in November 2025. The Hindu said former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal was sentenced alongside her on November 17.
AFP said Thursday's verdict brings to 72 the number of people convicted of crimes linked to the uprising. Of those, 23 have been sentenced to death and only four are in custody. The Hindu described Hanif as the 23rd leader of the now-disbanded Awami League to receive the death penalty since Hasina's ouster, and said dozens more have been given life or other jail terms while scores face trial.
Hasina and her party leaders have called the tribunal a "kangaroo court", The Hindu reported. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and prominent jurists have questioned whether the trials are fair.
The government of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman won a landslide in February in the first elections since Hasina's removal and has requested her extradition. Hasina, 78, has said she will return to Bangladesh of her own volition in December despite the death sentence, AFP reported.
Sources: The Straits Times, Bangladesh sentences Hasina-era minister to death; CNA, Bangladesh court sentences senior Sheikh Hasina ally to death over uprising killings; The Hindu, Bangladesh's tribunal sentences Awami League leader to death.
