Once Again Sheikh Hasina

⁨Death Threats Will Not Stop Sheikh Hasina --- Bangladesh's Government Is Using a Death Sentence as a Political Weapon The Chief Prosecutor of Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal, Md. Aminul Islam, has declared that if Sheikh Hasina returns home, there is "no alternative" to carrying out her death sentence. In November 2025, the tribunal sentenced her to death in absentia in a case that she and the people of Bangladesh have rejected as false and politically motivated, and the way this trial was conducted only confirms that view. The remark came just as she announced her return in December and applied for a passport and national identity card. The timing is no coincidence: this is not legal interpretation but a political message, designed to deter her return through fear. Three facts dismantle it. The trial was one-sided and its verdict pre-scripted; that verdict is now a political weapon; and, measured against the Constitution and international law, the prosecutor's statement shows open contempt for the courts and the Constitution. ▪️ A One-Sided Trial, a Pre-Scripted Verdict Sheikh Hasina never had a day in court or a lawyer of her choosing; her defence was a formality conducted by a state-appointed counsel whose preparation time human rights groups have questioned. A case of this scale was concluded at a speed Amnesty International said raises serious fair-trial concerns. The evidence is equally questionable. A co-accused, former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, turned state witness and received five years in prison, while others facing the same charges were sentenced to death: testimony traded for leniency condemned a former prime minister. The prosecution's impartiality is also in doubt. At the time of the verdict it was led by Mohammad Tajul Islam, who had defended, before the same tribunal, leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami, a party that opposed Bangladesh's independence in 1971, in crimes against humanity cases, and who had been joint convenor of the Amar Bangladesh Party. The sequence is revealing. On 10 May 2025, the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus amended the tribunal law to bring political parties within its reach. On 12 May, all activities of the Awami League, Sheikh Hasina's party, which governed from 2009 to 2024, were banned under the Anti-Terrorism Act, and that night the Election Commission suspended its registration. Crucially, the notification said the ban would last until the tribunal completed the trials of party leaders. The tribunal process itself became the legal basis for the ban. Bangladesh's oldest party was thus barred from the February 2026 election while its leader was sentenced to death. These are not isolated events but a coordinated effort to erase Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League from political life. The verdict can only be called pre-scripted. ▪️ A Verdict Turned into a Political Weapon On 5 August 2024, Sheikh Hasina left Bangladesh under arrangements made by the armed forces, aboard a Bangladesh Air Force C-130J. The state that flew her across the border in its own aircraft now calls her a "fugitive". On 23 December 2024, the interim government formally sought her extradition from India "for the judicial process". The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) government, in power since February 2026, has pressed the same demand. Yet when Sheikh Hasina herself announced her return and applied for travel documents, the state insisted she could come back only through the extradition treaty. Now a public death threat has been added. Does the government want a legal process, or simply to prevent her return? A verdict delivered under the interim government has become the BNP government's instrument of fear: not the outcome of justice, but a weapon against a political rival. ▪️ The Daughter Who Defied Death The fear of death is nothing new to her. On 15 August 1975, assassins murdered her father, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangladesh, at his home in Dhaka, along with his wife, his sons Sheikh Kamal and Sheikh Jamal, two newly married daughters-in-law and his ten-year-old son, Sheikh Russel. Sheikh Hasina and her sister survived only because they were abroad. In 1981, defying every obstacle, she returned home. Since then, there have been at least 19 attempts on her life. In 2000, 76 kilograms of explosives were buried near her rally venue in Kotalipara. On 21 August 2004, a grenade attack on her rally in Dhaka killed 24 people, including senior party leader Ivy Rahman, as party workers formed a human shield around her. Each time, she returned to her people. To imagine that the gallows will stop her is to ignore history. ▪️ What the Constitution Says A pre-scripted verdict from a staged trial is unacceptable to the people of Bangladesh. Nor does the prosecutor's claim, that the expired 30-day appeal period leaves only execution, survive the Constitution: • Article 7: The Constitution is supreme. The tribunal law's 30-day limit is subordinate to it. • Article 103: The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court hears appeals; under Article 103(4), Section 21 of the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act 1973 gives convicted persons that right. • Article 104: The Appellate Division may issue any order needed for "complete justice". Whether to admit a late appeal is its decision, not the prosecutor's. • Article 105: Even if an appeal is refused, the order can be reviewed. In 2014, the Appellate Division ruled that review petitions by those convicted under the tribunal law are maintainable. • Article 26: Fundamental rights limit state power. Even in tribunal cases, the right to life (Article 32), equality before the law (Article 27) and the right to enter Bangladesh (Article 36) remain, and no prosecutor's interpretation can erase them. Appeal, complete justice and review remain open, and none is the prosecutor's to decide; he is merely a party to the case, yet he has pronounced judgment in advance. He even contradicted himself, admitting at the same briefing that whether Sheikh Hasina has legal recourse will be decided once she is in Bangladesh, and that an appeal filed after the deadline is already pending in court. If the question is unresolved, what is the legal basis for "no alternative"? ▪️ What International Law Says Bangladesh acceded to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in 2000, and Article 25 of its Constitution commits the state to respect international law. Under the Covenant: • Article 14(3)(d): Everyone charged has the right to be tried in their presence. • Article 14(5): Everyone convicted has the right to review by a higher tribunal. • Article 12(4): No one may be arbitrarily deprived of the right to enter their own country. The UN Human Rights Committee holds that a death sentence violating these guarantees is arbitrary. On the day of the verdict, the UN Human Rights Office regretted the death penalty and stressed that international standards are especially vital when an in-absentia trial ends in a capital sentence. We expect the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN Human Rights Council and the UN Human Rights Committee to treat this declaration with due seriousness, and Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch to raise their voices. As a State Party to the ICCPR, Bangladesh must guarantee a retrial in the presence of the accused, the right to appeal and the right to return home. Effective action is needed now. ▪️ Final Word A trial without the accused, without her chosen lawyer and resting on testimony traded for leniency is a staged trial; a verdict preceded by a party ban tied to that very trial is pre-scripted. The people of Bangladesh have not accepted it, and never will. Knowing that the Constitution and international law keep these doors open, the Chief Prosecutor still declared there is no alternative to execution. A prosecutor who pre-empts the court speaks not the language of law but the language of power. His declaration is a political threat dressed in legal terms. But the woman he threatens lost her entire family in 1975, returned from exile, and survived 19 attempts on her life. Each time, her answer was to return to her people. Today, under a death sentence, she gives the same answer. The fearful do not announce their return; the courageous do. Sheikh Hasina has made that announcement. The fear belongs to those who answer it with talk of the gallows. Fear has never stopped Sheikh Hasina. It will not stop her now. Roudra Rudra, Political & Security Analyst ----- References 1. UN Human Rights Office, statement on the verdict (17 November 2025) news.un.org/en/story/2025/11… 2. Amnesty International, response to the death sentence (17 November 2025) amnesty.org.au/bangladesh-ju… 3. Press Trust of India, C-130J landing at Hindon airbase (5 August 2024) theprint.in/india/on-way-to-… 4. Press Trust of India, Bangladesh's extradition request to India (23 December 2024) theprint.in/world/bangladesh… 5. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) ohchr.org/en/instruments-mec… 6. UN Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 36 digitallibrary.un.org/record… 7. Prothom Alo, Chief Prosecutor's briefing (10 November 2026, Bangla edition) prothomalo.com 8. Ministry of Home Affairs notification and Election Commission decision (12 May 2025) dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/… 9. Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh bdlaws.minlaw.gov.bd/act-367… 10. International Crimes (Tribunals) Act 1973 bdlaws.minlaw.gov.bd/act-435… 11. The Financial Express, on Chief Prosecutor Tajul Islam's background thefinancialexpress.com.bd/n… #SheikhHasina #Bangladesh ⁩

BANGLADESH: A DISTURBING PATTERN OF POLITICAL ARRESTS AND REPRESSION --- Across Bangladesh, the state's law-enforcement machinery continues to arrest leaders and activists of the Bangladesh Awami League, whose activities remain unlawfully banned under deeply contested executive measures and subsequent parliamentary approval. The numbers emerging from different districts tell a deeply troubling story. Consider these reported arrests over just the past few weeks: November 12 — Netrokona: 29 Awami League leaders and activists reportedly arrested across nine upazilas. November 11 — Rangamati: 10 leaders and activists of Chhatra League, Jubo League, Krishak League and Sramik League arrested and sent to jail. November 9 — Cumilla: 107 arrested in a single overnight operation. November 6–8 — Cumilla: Another 81 arrested in coordinated police operations. November 3 — Dhaka: 33 Awami League members and affiliates arrested on suspicion of sabotage. November 2 — Jashore: 41 leaders and activists arrested across the district. October 25 — Gopalganj: Seven arrested following allegations of violence during a political procession. At least 308 arrests are documented or reported across these selected incidents alone. This is not a comprehensive nationwide count. Separately, Dhaka Metropolitan Police reported 197 arrests linked to banned organisations during the first nine days of November. These figures raise urgent questions about the scale of political arrests, the use of anti-terrorism and special-powers legislation, and whether fundamental constitutional protections are being respected. Meanwhile, reports of Awami League leaders and activists dying in custody deepen concerns about the treatment of political detainees and the state's responsibility to protect their lives. No individual should be imprisoned merely for political affiliation, peaceful assembly, or expressing political beliefs. Allegations of genuine criminal conduct must be investigated individually, supported by credible evidence, and adjudicated through fair and independent judicial proceedings. A government cannot claim to uphold democracy while treating political opposition as a crime. Bangladesh Awami League strongly condemns politically motivated arrests, arbitrary detention, custodial abuses, and the misuse of state institutions against its leaders, activists, and supporters. The continued targeting of political opponents represents a grave assault on democratic pluralism, fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law. Bangladesh Awami League demands an immediate end to politically motivated arrests, the release of all individuals detained solely for exercising their fundamental political rights, and independent investigations into custodial deaths and allegations of abuse. The international community, the United Nations, and international human-rights organisations must speak up, demand transparency, independently scrutinise these arrests and custodial deaths, and insist that Bangladesh respect fundamental political and civil rights. As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. reminded the world: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Bangladesh cannot be an exception. #Bangladesh #HumanRights #AwamiLeague #PoliticalRepression #RuleOfLaw⁩

UN REAFFIRMS: POLITICAL PARTICIPATION MUST BE FREE FOR ALL IN BANGLADESH The United Nations has made its position clear: all political parties and political personalities in Bangladesh must be free to participate in political activities. Speaking in New York, @UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq stressed that political freedom must extend to everyone. Political rights cannot be selective. No party or political constituency should be arbitrarily excluded from democratic participation. Accountability and political freedom must go hand in hand. Democracy means political rights for ALL, without discrimination. @UN_Spokesperson @antonioguterres @AminaJMohammed ➡️ unb.com.bd/category/Banglade… #Bangladesh #UnitedNations #Democracy #PoliticalFreedom #HumanRights⁩

⁨📷⁩ ⁨Jubo League Activist Shahjahan, Macheted on the Orders of Sheikh Farid Manik, Passes Away - Four Innocent Daughters Orphaned by the Brutality of BNP-Jamaat Killers! Shahjahan Howlader, an active Bangladesh Awami Jubo League worker from Ward No. 3, Kalyanpur Union, Chandpur Sadar Upazila, is no longer with us. After battling for his life for more than a year at Dhaka Medical College Hospital, he finally breathed his last yesterday at 11:00 AM. His only “crime” was participating in a protest rally organised by the Chandpur District Awami League against the massacre that took place in Gopalganj on July 16. To punish him for this, BNP-Jamaat terrorist cadres allegedly carried out a brutal and barbaric attack on Shahjahan in the Dasadi Bazar area of Kalyanpur Union, acting on the direct orders of Sheikh Farid Ahmed Manik, the MP from Chandpur-3 under what the statement describes as an illegal and fascist government. His body was left covered in blood after repeated blows from sharp weapons. Today, he is gone, leaving behind four young and innocent daughters. The father in whose arms they were supposed to grow up laughing and playing is no longer there. Because of the political brutality of BNP-Jamaat terrorists, these four innocent children have lost their greatest source of support, security and protection. Every planner, instigator and direct participant from BNP-Jamaat allegedly involved in this inhumane and brutal killing must be held accountable and face the full consequences. The people and soil of this country will demand justice for every tear shed by these four orphaned children.⁩ #AwamiLeague #BNPViolence

Workers Build Bangladesh’s Economy, Yet Their Right to a Living Wage Goes Unheard! Garment workers demanding a Tk 30,000 minimum monthly wage are fighting not for luxury, but for food, shelter, healthcare and a dignified life for their families. Their sweat fuels the country's export economy, but soaring living costs are pushing them to the streets. A question for the BNP government and Tarique Rahman: Are workers valuable only for the wealth they produce, or do their lives and livelihoods matter too? Development means nothing if workers cannot afford to live with dignity. #Bangladesh #GarmentsWorkers #BangladeshCrisis

Bangladesh's State Minister for Information has declared all media coverage of Awami League activities prohibited. The party that led the nation's Liberation War, backed by millions of citizens, has been erased from the news by decree. This is not merely the silencing of a party; it is a direct assault on press freedom and the public's right to know. Censorship cannot bury the truth. The world must speak up now.⁩ #MediaBan #AwamiLeague #PressFreedom

Armed BNP cadres stormed and vandalised the homes of Awami League leaders, terrorising their families, as captured in footage released by media outlets. These incidents raise serious questions about the growing political violence, the targeting of dissenters, and the climate of impunity. They also demand accountability for attacks being carried out amid the continued exclusion of Awami League from political life. How much longer will the international community remain silent?⁩ #BNPViolence #Bangladesh