Leaders of several political parties have welcomed the International Crimes Tribunal’s verdict against Sheikh Hasina and her cohorts, stating that the martyrs’ souls will finally find peace.
BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami, National Citizen Party (NCP), and other political groups expressed approval of the ruling.
Following Monday’s verdict, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said, “We believe this verdict is not only a trial of Sheikh Hasina’s crimes, but also a declaration that all forms of authoritarian rule will be buried forever in this country.”
In a discussion, Salahuddin Ahmed, the party’s Standing Committee member, said justice has been established at the International Crimes Tribunal and this verdict is a milestone.
“It proves that no matter how powerful fascism becomes, or how long it remains in power, it will eventually face the court. Bangladesh must be strengthened through the establishment of justice and the rule of law.”
Jamaat Secretary General Mia Golam Parwar described the death sentence against Sheikh Hasina as a warning to anyone attempting to impose fascist rule in Bangladesh.
During a press conference at the party’s Moghbazar office, he said, “This verdict is historic. It confirms she was a mass killer and fulfils the aspirations of 180 million people.”
Parwar also emphasised that sentencing a former head of government “marks a milestone for justice, proving that no criminal is above the law,” and called on India to repatriate Sheikh Hasina, who has been sentenced to death.
NCP Convenor Nahid Islam has called for the immediate enforcement of Sheikh Hasina’s death sentence for crimes against humanity, urging that she be brought back from India within a month.
He congratulated all participants of the July uprising, and said the verdict is a milestone in Bangladesh’s judicial history.
“The families of the injured and martyrs will find peace only when the sentence is carried out,” he said.
Nahid also stressed that the Awami League must face justice and urged unity to prevent any obstruction of future tribunal proceedings.
On Monday, the International Crimes Tribunal found all five charges of crimes against humanity against Sheikh Hasina and two others proven.
She was sentenced to life imprisonment under the principle of superior responsibility for inciting violence at a July 2024 press conference, after which law enforcement and armed groups were accused of systematic attacks on unarmed protesters.
In three other charges, including ordering lethal attacks using helicopters and drones, as well as the killings at Chankharpul and the burning deaths of six people in Ashulia, Hasina was sentenced to death.
Former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal received the same sentence for his involvement.
Former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, the only arrested accused and the tribunal’s approver, was found guilty but received only five years as lenience for cooperating with the investigation, despite the tribunal stating he was responsible for all the atrocities and deserved the capital punishment.
