B’desh’s International Crimes Tribunal has sentenced Awami League Joint General Secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif to death for crimes against humanity linked to the July 2024 uprising. Three other party leaders received life imprisonment, while the Awami League condemned the verdict as biased.
Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) on Thursday sentenced Mahbubul Alam Hanif, Joint General Secretary of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League, to death for crimes against humanity linked to the July 2024 mass uprising. Three other Awami League leaders — Sadar Uddin Khan, Azgar Ali and Ataur Rahman Ata — were sentenced to life imprisonment in the same case, according to local media reports.
A three-member tribunal bench, headed by Chairman Justice Nazrul Islam Chowdhury, delivered the verdict. The ruling adds to a series of cases against senior Awami League figures over alleged crimes connected to the 2024 uprising.
According to reports published by Bangladeshi media outlet Dhaka Tribune, Hanif was found guilty on counts one to six of the first charge and sentenced to death. He was also awarded life imprisonment with hard labour after being convicted on the second and third charges.
The tribunal found the three other accused guilty on counts one to six of the first charge and sentenced each of them to life imprisonment with hard labour. Reports said all four defendants remained in hiding when the verdict was delivered.
The latest ruling comes amid an intensifying legal crackdown on leaders and activists of the Awami League following the political upheaval of July 2024. Several senior figures associated with the party have faced serious charges, including crimes against humanity, in proceedings before the tribunal.
Last month, the ICT sentenced Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader and six other senior leaders of the party and its affiliated organisations to death in another case connected to the July 2024 uprising.
The latest verdict has drawn strong criticism from the Awami League, which rejected the death sentences imposed on its leaders and activists. The party described the ruling as “one-sided, biased and fabricated” and accused the tribunal of using the judicial process to target political opponents.
In its response, the party alleged that the proceedings represented another instance of what it called the “weaponisation of judiciary” to suppress political dissent. It also raised concerns about the legal safeguards available to the accused during the proceedings.
The Awami League particularly highlighted that none of the individuals against whom the verdict was pronounced was present before the tribunal. It argued that even in trials conducted in absentia, fundamental legal protections, including the right of the accused to choose counsel of their own preference, must be maintained.
According to the party, these safeguards had not been adequately respected in the present case. It further alleged that the judicial process had been conducted hastily, disregarding fundamental principles of international human rights law and international criminal law.
The party claimed that such proceedings risked promoting political vengeance and a culture of impunity rather than strengthening the rule of law. It also questioned the legitimacy of the tribunal’s activities since August 5, 2024, describing them as violations of international law and human rights.
The allegations reflect the deep political divisions surrounding the legal proceedings against former ruling-party figures in Bangladesh. While the tribunal has delivered convictions and sentences in cases linked to the July 2024 uprising, the Awami League has challenged the fairness and impartiality of the process.
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The latest judgment places Mahbubul Alam Hanif and three other party leaders among the Awami League figures facing severe punishment in cases arising from the uprising. The verdict is likely to intensify debate over accountability for alleged crimes during the unrest, the treatment of former government officials and the independence of Bangladesh’s judicial institutions.
The tribunal’s decision and the Awami League’s objections have brought renewed attention to the legal and political consequences of the 2024 uprising, with questions surrounding due process, accountability and human rights remaining central to the wider controversy.
