Sheikh Hasina Proclaims Innocence Amid High-Stakes Tribunal Verdict

Fri Nov 14 2025 15:06:18 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has denied charges of crimes against humanity as a tribunal prepares to announce its verdict. Facing potential death penalty, Hasina claims the trial is biased, orchestrated by political rivals.

In a recent interview, Sheikh Hasina, the former Prime Minister of Bangladesh, refuted charges against her related to a crackdown on protests that led to her ousting. She insists the trial she is undergoing is a 'farce' orchestrated by political adversaries, as a special tribunal prepares to deliver a verdict that could result in the death penalty. Hasina's allegations include orchestrating violence against unarmed civilians, claims she categorically denies.

Bangladesh's former prime minister Sheikh Hasina has denied committing crimes against humanity during a deadly crackdown on last year's uprising that ousted her, days before the special tribunal trying her is due to deliver a verdict.

Hasina is accused of being the main architect behind hundreds of killings during the mass protests against her autocratic rule - an allegation she denies.

In her first interview with the BBC since she fled the country on 5 August 2024, she said her trial in absentia was a farce orchestrated by a kangaroo court controlled by political opponents.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Hasina if she is found guilty on Monday.

Hasina claimed the trial was destined to deliver a pre-ordained guilty verdict. Security has been tightened in and around the tribunal in the capital Dhaka ahead of Monday's verdict, marking a significant moment for the country and for the families of those killed during the student-led anti-government protests that led to her ousting.

UN human rights investigators have stated that up to 1,400 people were killed as Hasina's government employed systematic violence against protesters in an attempt to retain power.

The former prime minister has refused to return from India for the trial, where she is accused of personally ordering security forces to shoot at protesters in the weeks leading to her flight.

In an email interview with the BBC, Hasina categorically denied these allegations, acknowledging that while the situation escalated, she never commanded an attack on unarmed civilians.

Leaked audio from her phone conversations suggested she had approved the use of lethal weapons shortly before the protests intensified, evidence she faces in court.

Formally indicted alongside two others in July, Hasina has yet to be represented in her trial, as lawyers assert that her political adversaries aim to dismantle her Awami League party.

In response to the trial circumstances, her legal counsel has reached out to the UN, citing severe issues of fair trial rights at the International Crimes Tribunal.

As her Awami League party is barred from participating in February's general elections, the former premier faces additional allegations of abuses and corruption during her lengthy rule. While denying involvement in secret detentions and unlawful killings, she suggested that responsibility for abuses should be thoroughly investigated.