A Bangladeshi court on Thursday handed a death sentence in absentia to Md Mahbubul Alam Hanif, a senior figure in the former ruling Awami League, over his role in the killings of six people during the 2024 uprising. Three other party leaders received life imprisonment.
The four men were convicted of murdering six people in western Kushtia district during the unrest that forced out Sheikh Hasina. A three-member tribunal delivered the verdict. Hanif, the party’s joint general secretary, had also served as a minister during Hasina’s rule.
Prosecutors and defence respond to the verdict
Chief prosecutor Md Aminul Islam told reporters that “the charges against the convicts were undoubtedly proved.” Islam added that the tribunal ordered half of the convicts’ immovable property to be confiscated and given as compensation to families of those killed or injured.
State-appointed defence lawyer Md Amir Hossain called the verdict “unacceptable.”
Death toll and Hasina’s flight to India
According to the United Nations, as many as 1,400 people were killed between July and August 2024, when Hasina’s government tried to suppress the student-led uprising.
Hasina’s 15-year rule ended in August 2024, when she fled by helicopter to neighbouring India. She remains in hiding there and was sentenced to death in absentia in November 2025.
Convictions tally and extradition request
Thursday’s sentencing brings the total number of people convicted of crimes linked to the 2024 uprising to 72. Of those, 23 have been sentenced to death, but only four are in custody.
Hasina has refused to accept the court’s authority. The government of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, which won a landslide in February’s first elections since her ouster, has requested her extradition. Hasina, 78, has said she will return to Bangladesh of her own volition in December.
