What happens next after Sheikh Hasina's guilty verdictpublished at 11:59 GMT 17 November 2025

11:59 GMT 17 November 2025

Mir Sabbir
Editor, BBC News Bangla

Image source, Reuters

Sheikh Hasina has now been convicted by the court that she established in 2010 to try war crimes committed during Bangladesh’s 1971 liberation war.

But one significant question has emerged - will it have any effect on the former ruling Awami League party, which Hasina still heads - and what does it mean for her future in politics, if any?

The Bangladesh government has for months been calling for Hasina, who currently resides in India, to be extradited.

A previous extradition plea was for a lesser sentence for contempt of court, which India did not respond to.

But if an elected government comes to power following the scheduled Bangladesh national elections in February next year and pushes for her extradition, or puts pressure to stop her from carrying on party activities from there, it could make it more difficult for India to ignore such a request from an elected government.

Image source, Getty Images

Even before the verdict, a court had imposed a ban on media outlets publishing what it termed her 'provocative statements' - a move condemned by her party, the Awami League. The interim government has also banned the party's activities by executive order.

Since the ouster of its government, the Awami League has been largely invisible from politics on the ground. All its top leaders are in exile, many of them in India, while others have been arrested.

Any further restrictions on Hasina’s statements or the Awami League’s operations following this verdict would place the party under considerable pressure.

While the party maintains there is no internal debate over her leadership, it remains to be seen whether mounting legal restrictions, coupled with increased diplomatic pressure on India for her return, will compel the Awami League to adopt a different strategy in the days ahead.

We're closing this live page now, but you can read more about the situation in Bangladesh by reading our latest stories:

• Sheikh Hasina: The pro-democracy icon who became an autocrat
• Bangladesh's ousted leader Sheikh Hasina sentenced to death

Malu Cursino
Live reporter

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

As we reported a few hours ago, the former prime minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina has been sentenced to death by a tribunal in Dhaka over a deadly crackdown on anti-government protests last year.

Speaking from exile in India, Hasina dismissed the judgement as "politically motivated".

The country's interim government described Monday's verdict as "historic", urging people to remain calm, restrained and responsible. It comes as security across Bangladesh has ramped up, with tear gas being used in the streets of Dhaka to disperse protesters.

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

Hasina, her interior minister and police chief were all found guilty. Among those on trial, only former police chief Abdullah al-Mamun was present for the sentencing.

The United Nations estimates up to 1,400 people died in the student-led protests last year, most by gunfire from security forces.

Human rights activist Shireen Huq says the "harsh punishment" for Hasina will not offer solace for the families of those killed and injured during last year's protests. "They will never be able to forgive her," Huq adds.

Image source, Reuters

We've been receiving pictures from Bangladesh's capital that show police using sound grenades and batons to disperse crowds at a demonstration following the verdict handed down to Sheikh Hasina.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Why this verdict puts India in a tricky situationpublished at 11:13 GMT 17 November 2025

11:13 GMT 17 November 2025

Anbarasan Ethirajan
Global Affairs Reporter

Image source, Reuters

The guilty verdict against Sheikh Hasina has put India in a tricky situation.

Now the Bangladeshi foreign ministry is expected to issue another extradition request for Hasina, who has been living in India since she fled the country in August 2024.

India has not formally responded to Dhaka's previous demands. The two countries have an extradition treaty.

But legal experts say India can deny the extradition request if it is deemed that the charges against Hasina may be of a political nature or not made in good faith.

She fostered close ties with India during her premiership. There's also a political consensus in India not to send Hasina back to Bangladesh.

For Delhi, Bangladesh is not just a neighbouring country - it's strategically important as it is crucial for border security, particularly in the north-eastern India states.

India may find itself walking on a tightrope, as any refusal to send her back might be seen as a diplomatic snub, further worsening bilateral ties.

Bangladesh's interim government has called the death sentence for ex-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina a "historic verdict", adding that its significance is "profound".

However, it also called for calm - adding that emotions could run high in light of the verdict. It added that any attempt to create "anarchy, chaos or disturb public order would be strictly suppressed".

Bangladesh currently has an interim government run by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, which was formed after the student-led protest that overthrew Sheikh Hasina's then ruling Awami League party.

In the streets of Dhaka, tear gas has been deployed after news that the country's former Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, was sentenced to death in absentia over a brutal crackdown on protests in 2024.

This short video shows some of the latest footage we've seen from the Bangladesh capital:

Shireen Huq, a human rights activist based in Dhaka, Bangladesh, says the "harsh punishment" for Sheikh Hasina in today's verdict will not offer solace for the families of the people killed and injured during last year's brutal crackdown on protests.

Huq works with people who were severely injured and became amputees as a result. "They will never be able to forgive her," she says.

Huq continues by saying the anger against Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League "has not subsided... neither she nor the party has apologised or shown any remorse for the killings of hundreds of people".

"It makes it difficult for the party to be accepted by a majority of people in this country," she adds.

Sheikh Hasina's sentence will be "effective from the day of arrest", Bangladesh's attorney general has said.

As we've been reporting, Hasina was tried in absentia by a special tribunal. She has been in exile in India.

Her state-appointed lawyer Mohammad Amir Hossain says he is "sad [and wishes] the verdict had been different".

"I even cannot appeal because my clients are absent; that’s why I am sad," he adds.

Image source, Reuters

Bangladesh's former Prime Minister Hasina has condemned the Dhaka court verdict as "biased and politically motivated".

The death penalty is the interim government's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League as a political force", she said in a five-page statement released after the verdict.

Hasina, who is in exile in India, had earlier called the trial a "farce" and denied all the charges against her.

"I am not afraid to face my accusers in a proper tribunal where the evidence can be weighed and tested fairly," she said, adding that she had challenged the interim government to bring these charges before the International Criminal Court in the Hague.

She noted that she is "very proud of [her] government's record on human rights and development".

Image source, Getty Images

It has been an eventful few hours in Bangladesh, with a court announcing the death penalty for the country's former leader Sheikh Hasina.

If you're just joining us, or are in need of a quick recap, here's a summary of the main developments:

• A court in Dhaka, Bangladesh's capital, has found former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina guilty of various crimes against humanity and has sentenced her to death over a deadly crackdown on anti-government protests last year
• Hasina was tried in her absence as she has been living in exile in India since being forced from power. She has denied all charges and decried the tribunal as a kangaroo court

• The verdict marks a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the 2024 protests were a result of years of bottled-up unrest due to years of repression and stifling of dissent, the BBC's global affairs correspondent Anbarasan Ethirajan writes
• It also poses a diplomatic test for India and Bangladesh, with the case being overshadowed by complex diplomatic realities. Dhaka has formally requested her extradition but so far India has shown no willingness to comply
• The verdict was handed down under tight security and many of Hasina's critics staged a rally in Dhaka as it was being read

Stick with us for the latest updates and reaction.

This is the moment a packed courtroom in Bangladesh erupted in applause as the tribunal handed down the death penalty for the country's former leader Sheikh Hasina.

The ex-prime minister was not present to hear the sentence, as she has been living in exile in India since being forced from power.

Nick Marsh
Live reporter

Image source, Getty Images

The trigger for last year's deadly protests was young Bangladeshis' anger at the way government jobs were being handed out.

Since its war of independence from Pakistan in 1971, Bangladesh had always reserved 30% of all civil service roles for veterans and, crucially, their descendants.

By 2024, thousands of desirable jobs were being given to people based on their ancestry rather than on merit. In practice, they were often supporters of Sheik Hasina and her party, the Awami League.

For students and young graduates suffering from a sky high unemployment rate, the quota system was beginning to be seen as a sign of cronyism within Bangladesh's establishment, rather than a reward for patriotism.

Since the interim government took over, the quota system has been vastly reduced. Now only 5% of government jobs go to descendants of war veterans.

Bangladesh's new leader Muhammad Yunus has also stabilised the economy somewhat, by boosting the country's foreign reserves and securing vital loans from the International Monetary Fund.

But Bangladesh, one of the world's biggest clothing producers, needs more foreign investment to repair its fragile economy. That won't happen, so long as the violence and political instability continues.

Arunoday Mukharji
Reporting from Dhaka

As the death penalty was announced against Sheikh Hasina, cheers erupted both inside and outside court. There is a small group of people who are chanting slogans demanding the guilty be hanged. The applause inside the court lasted a few seconds before the court requested those present inside to maintain court decorum.

A tribunal in Bangladesh has sentenced former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to death over a deadly crackdown on anti-government protests last year.

Hasina, who was convicted for various crimes against humanity, was tried in her absence. She is living in exile in India.

Arunoday Mukharji
Reporting from Dhaka

Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was sentenced along with her former interior minister and police chief.

They were found guilty of allowing the use of lethal force against protesters and failing to prevent atrocities against them.

The court read out all charges against the accused, detailing the scale of the violence in the police action.

The deposed leader denies all charges in the crackdown where the UN says hundreds were killed.

The protests ended with Hasina fleeing to India, where she has been living ever since. She was tried in absentia by a special tribunal.

Among those on trial, only former police chief Abdullah al-Mamun was present for the sentencing.

They are expected to be sentenced soon - stay with us.

Our team in court say the sentence handed down to Hasina is expected to be confirmed very soon.

Our team in Dhaka are listening to the proceedings.

Former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been found guilty of crimes against humanity and will be sentenced shortly.

She was tried in her absence as she is living in exile in India.

We will have more soon.

Today's verdict could set the direction of Bangladesh for years to comepublished at 08:18 GMT 17 November 2025

08:18 GMT 17 November 2025

Anbarasan Ethirajan
Global Affairs Reporter

We're awaiting the verdict that could set the direction of Bangladesh for the next few years. The mass uprising in mid-2024 was a result of years of bottled-up emotion among a large section of the society following years of repression and stifling of dissent.

Image source, Getty Images

The violent crackdown was captured on mobile phones and shared on social media and spread like wildfire. The killings of hundreds of people, including children, infuriated Bangladeshis.

More than a year later, neither Sheikh Hasina nor the Awami League have apologised or expressed remorse for what had happened, causing lot of seething anger.

The families of hundreds of those killed and injured want justice.

But there's the question of how the verdict will be implemented if Hasina is found guilty, as she is currently in exile in India.

Former inspector general of police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun is the only accused person who is present in court today.

Chowdhury pleaded guilty in July for his involvement in the uprising last year and has given testimony as the state's witness.

Bangladesh's former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and another co-accused, ex-interior minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, have both gone into hiding.

The tribunal judges in Dhaka have nearly finished reading their judgement now.

We're expecting a verdict soon - stick with us for the latest.