(MENAFN- Live Mint) In a major development in Bangladesh, a Dhaka-based special tribunal on Monday handed down death sentences to ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan. Former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun was sentenced to five years in prison.

A three-member tribunal, led by Justice Golam Mortuza Mozumder, delivered the ruling in a court session that was broadcast live.

The verdict comes while the country continues to grapple with instability following Hasina's ouster on 5 August 2024.

Also Read | From student protests to death sentence - A timeline of Sheikh Hasina's trial The basis for the court judgement

The case concerns crimes committed during the Hasina government's crackdown on a student uprising in 2024, an event which claimed hundreds of lives and led to the overthrow of her 15-year rule.

Both Hasina and Khan were accused of ordering the killing of hundreds of people during the student-led unrest in July and August of 2024.

The International Crimes Tribunal found former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan guilty for his direct involvement in the use of deadly force against the protesters.

The scale of the violence remains a contentious issue. The Health Advisor under the nation's current interim government reported that more than 800 people were killed and approximately 14,000 were injured. However, a United Nations report published in February suggested that the death toll may have been up to 1,400.

Both Hasina and Khan fled to India last year and were tried and sentenced in absentia. Given their absence, it appears unlikely that Hasina will return to Bangladesh to face her sentence. India has not yet responded to requests from Bangladesh for her extradition to face the trial.

Also Read | India's first response to Hasina death sentence: 'Will engage constructively'

The third accused, former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, received a five-year prison sentence after turning state's witness against Hasina and pleading guilty. He was present in court when the judgment was announced.

Hasina's reaction

Following the court ruling, Hasina said the charges are unjustified, arguing that she and Khan“acted in good faith and were trying to minimize the loss of life.”

“We lost control of the situation, but to characterize what happened as a premeditated assault on citizens is simply to misread the facts,” she said Monday in a statement denouncing the verdict. She rejected the ruling, calling it“biased and politically motivated."

“I mourn all of the deaths that occurred in July and August of last year, on both sides of the political divide," she said. "But neither I nor other political leaders ordered the killing of protesters.”

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