What will be the fate of ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina? Will she be hanged or will she have to spend the rest of her life in prison? The International Criminal Court will pronounce verdict on Hasina on November 13. This was announced by the International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh on Thursday, October 23. The 78-year-old former Bangladesh Prime Minister is accused of “Crimes against humanity” during the ‘July Movement’ last year.

The court hearing in the case against her concluded on Thursday. Apart from Hasina, the other two accused in the case are Bangladesh’s former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan and the IGP of the police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun. Although the IGP has confessed to his crime in the case and has become an approver. A three-member International Crimes Tribunal-1 headed by Justice Mohammad Golam Mortuza Majumder announced on Thursday that the verdict will be pronounced on November 13, which is less than a month away.

The verdict will come three months ahead of elections expected in early February 2026, the first since Hasina’s overthrow.

Death penalty sought for Hasina

The hearing of the case at the International Criminal Court on Thursday concluded with closing statement from Attorney General Mohammad Asaduzzaman. He appealed for the maximum punishment for Sheikh Hasina and the then Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan.

” She was the prime minister but fled, leaving behind the entire nation — her fleeing corroborates the allegations. If she believed in the justice system, she should have returned,” Attorney General Md Asaduzzaman said in his closing speech of the nearly five-month-long trial in Dhaka.

State-appointed lawyer Amir Hossain appeared in court on behalf of Hasina and the former home minister, who have been declared ‘fugitives’ in Bangladesh. Hossain pleaded for the acquittal of the former prime minister and former home minister. In response to his statement, the Chief Prosecutor sought the maximum punishment for Hasina and Asaduzzaman Khan.

Earlier, Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam had argued seeking death penalty for Sheikh Hasina. Chief prosecutor Tajul Islam has accused Hasina of being “the nucleus around whom all the crimes were committed” during the uprising.

Why Hasina fled Bangladesh last year?

Sheikh Hasina fled Bangladesh and resigned from her position as Prime Minister on August 5, 2024, following weeks of massive student-led protests. The demonstrations, which initially opposed a government job quota system, escalated into a widespread popular uprising demanding her ouster.

Following months long protests, which saw violent suppression and killings of protesters, Hasina and her administration were given an ultimatum by the lead organisation of protesters, Students Against Discrimination, to resign from office. Up to 1,400 people were killed between July and August 2024, according to the United Nations.

The Awami League government in Bangladesh fell on August 5, 2024, due to public protests. Hasina resigned as Prime Minister and flew from Dhaka to the Hindon Air Force Base in Uttar Pradesh with her sister Rehana. She is currently in temporary shelter in India. The interim government of Bangladesh has sent a diplomatic request to India to return Hasina. Although India has acknowledged receipt of the diplomatic request, the country’s decision has not been publicly announced yet.

Now the question is, what punishment will Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s daughter be sentenced to if she is found guilty of genocide? Death penalty or life imprisonment? At the moment, the ousted Prime Minister of Bangladesh is reportedly in ‘political asylum’ in India. Hasina has defied court orders to return from India to face charges of ordering a deadly crackdown in a failed attempt to crush a student-led uprising.

The interim government led by Muhammad Yunus has repeatedly appealed to New Delhi for her extradition. In this situation, Hasina can be arrested as soon as she sets foot in Dhaka.

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