Seven senior leaders of Bangladesh’s former ruling Awami League have been sentenced to death for their roles in the deadly crackdown on the 2024 student-led protests.
The men, who were members of ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League, were convicted of crimes against humanity, including murder, as well as instigating and provoking killings during the uprising.
They include Obaidul Quader, former general secretary of the Awami League; Mohammad Arafat, former minister; Bahauddin Nasim; Fazle Parash; Mainul Nikhil; Saddam Hussain; and Wali Enan.
The sentences were handed down on Tuesday by a three-member tribunal headed by Justice Nazrul Islam Chowdhury, with prosecutors welcoming the verdict.
“We are happy with the verdict,” prosecutor Md Aminul Islam said.
The case is linked to the violent government response to the student-led uprising between July and August 2024, which eventually brought an end to Hasina’s 15-year rule.
According to the United Nations, about 1,400 people were killed during the period as security forces and government supporters attempted to suppress the protests.
The unrest eventually forced Hasina from power in August 2024, prompting her to flee Bangladesh by helicopter to neighbouring India, where she remains.
Hasina was herself sentenced to death by hanging in absentia in November 2025 over her role in the crackdown.
However, the defence challenged the latest convictions, arguing that the seven former Awami League leaders were not directly involved in the killings.
State-appointed defence lawyer M Hasan Imam said the tribunal could have imposed lesser sentences, arguing that the men were convicted largely because of the actions of fellow party activists and supporters.
“They were not directly involved in the killings, they have been convicted due to their fellow activists and supporters,” Imam said.
Beyond the death sentences, the tribunal ordered that half of the assets belonging to five of the convicted men be distributed as compensation to families of people killed or injured during the uprising.
The latest verdict adds to a series of prosecutions arising from the 2024 unrest, as Bangladesh continues efforts to hold former government officials and supporters accountable for the violence that accompanied the collapse of Hasina’s administration.