Bangladesh’s interim government says the conviction shows commitment to justice.
Bangladesh’s self-removed former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been sentenced to six months in prison by the country’s International Crimes Court (ICT) to contempt the court.
The three courts led by Judge Golam Mortuza Mozumder passed a verdict on Wednesday in Hasina’s absence. The ruling will be effective in her arrest or voluntary surrender, Islamic Secretary Muhammad Tajur told reporters.
Hasina, who fled to India after a student-led uprising last August, faces several accusations. This is the first time she has been sentenced to a formal sentence in one of the following cases:
Shakil Akand Bulbul, a senior Chhatra League student wing, a banned student wing of the Awami League, was also sentenced for two months in the same case.
The light emptying comes from audio recordings where Hasina is said to have said, “There are 227 cases against me, so I have a license to kill 227 people.” The government’s forensic report later confirmed the reliability of the tape.
ICT was established in 2010 by Hasina’s own government to prosecute war crimes committed during the 1971 War of Independence.
Since then, it has been reused by a provisional government led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus and pursues allegations of rights violations and corruption under Hasina’s control.
The court issued three arrest warrants for Hasina, including charges of crimes against humanity related to crackdowns on student-led protests last year. Her Awamy League party remains banned in ongoing trials against former officials.
Hasina supporters argued that the incident was politically motivated and described them as part of a broader effort to silence their opposition. However, the caretaker government argues that legal procedures are necessary to restore public trust in national institutions and ensure accountability.
