Former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been formally charged with crimes against humanity over her alleged role in the violent suppression of mass protests that shook the country last year, prosecutors announced on Sunday.
The charges, brought by Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), accuse Hasina of ordering a brutal crackdown on anti-government demonstrators during the July-August 2023 monsoon protests, which resulted in the deaths of an estimated 1,400 people, according to United Nations figures.
Chief prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam told the court that Hasina “directly ordered” the operations by state security forces and armed members of her Awami League party to quell what began as student-led protests but escalated into a nationwide uprising against her 15-year rule.
“Upon scrutinising the evidence, we reached the conclusion that it was a coordinated, widespread, and systematic attack,” Islam said. “The accused unleashed all law enforcement agencies and her armed party members to crush the uprising.”
The charges against Hasina include abetment, incitement, complicity, facilitation, conspiracy, and failure to prevent mass murder. Two senior officials from her former administration were also formally indicted.
Hasina, who fled Bangladesh by helicopter to India in the aftermath of the unrest, remains in New Delhi, out of reach of Bangladeshi authorities despite an international arrest warrant issued last October for her and 45 former ministers, advisors, and senior military and civil officials.
The 2023 crackdown marked one of the deadliest periods in the country’s recent history, with rights groups documenting extrajudicial killings, disappearances, and mass arrests. Footage of security forces firing on crowds in Dhaka drew international condemnation at the time.
In the wake of Hasina’s departure, a caretaker government was installed, led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate and long-time Hasina critic Muhammad Yunus. The transitional administration pledged to restore democratic order and oversee a free and fair election, which is expected to be held by June 2026.
However, controversy has surrounded the government’s recent decision to bar Hasina’s Awami League from participating in the upcoming polls. Bangladesh’s Election Commission this month revoked the party’s registration, citing its alleged involvement in last year’s violence and pending war crimes trials against its leaders and members.
The interim government also announced a ban on all Awami League political activities, including publications, media coverage, online content, and public gatherings, until all related trials are concluded.
The ICT’s move to indict Hasina marks a dramatic fall for one of South Asia’s most dominant political figures. Once praised for her economic reforms and international diplomacy, Hasina’s legacy now faces deep scrutiny amid accusations of authoritarianism, suppression of dissent, and systemic human rights abuses.
