Amnesty International condemned yesterday’s decision of Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) to sentence former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to death after convicting them in absentia of crimes against humanity linked to the 2024 student-led protests. Amnesty International Secretary General Agnès Callamard said in a statement that the ruling represents a grave miscarriage of justice, warning that the verdict fails to deliver accountability for the victims of last year’s violence and instead risks deepening Bangladesh’s human rights crisis.

 

 

Amnesty International said the verdict raises significant fair trial concerns, citing the tribunal’s long-criticised lack of independence and history of politically influenced proceedings. The organisation noted that the trial was conducted at unprecedented speed, despite the scale and complexity of the case, and highlighted multiple due-process failures.

 

 

The rights organisation stressed that true justice for the victims of the 2024 massacre requires independent, impartial, and transparent judicial processes that meet international human rights standards – not capital punishment. Amnesty International reiterated its unconditional opposition to the death penalty in all cases, regardless of the crime, circumstances, or method of execution.