Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) has convicted 68 individuals across seven cases linked to alleged murders, incitement, provocation, and conspiracy during the July–August 2024 student-led uprising, with 22 of them handed death sentences, according to media reports. The latest verdict, delivered on Tuesday, sentenced Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader and six others to death.

Scale of the Verdicts

Of the 22 condemned to death, 18 are reportedly absconding, while four remain in custody, according to the Bangladesh Business Standard. The convicts facing capital punishment include former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, senior Awami League leaders, and several police officials.

Notably, 11 of those sentenced to death are Awami League leaders or members of affiliated organisations — including Hasina and Quader — while the remaining 11 are police officials. Hasina and Kamal were both sentenced to death on 17 November last year and were tried in absentia, as were the six convicted on Tuesday. Former Inspector General of Police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, who turned state witness, received a comparatively lighter five-year prison term.

Police Officials Among the Convicted

Three former senior police officials are among those facing the death penalty: the former Commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), former Joint Commissioner Sudip Kumar Chakraborty, and then Additional Deputy Police Commissioner Shah Alam Mohammad Akhtarul Islam, according to reports. Five other police officers received prison terms ranging from three to six years.

The 2024 Uprising That Changed Bangladesh

The 2024 student movement stands as a watershed moment in Bangladesh's post-independence history. Mass protests erupted over allegations of corruption, deteriorating educational conditions, and what demonstrators described as increasingly authoritarian governance under Hasina. Security forces reportedly responded with paramilitary deployments and live ammunition, leaving an estimated 1,400 people dead, according to earlier reports.

The uprising forced Hasina — who had dominated Bangladeshi politics for decades — into exile and resulted in a ban on the Awami League. This comes amid a broader political restructuring: in February 2026, a general election brought the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by Tarique Rahman, to power.

The ICT: Mandate and Expansion

The ICT was originally established in 2009 following the Awami League's decisive two-thirds majority victory in the December 2008 general election, with a mandate to prosecute suspects for the genocide committed during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. Its first indictments were issued in 2010, with the first conviction — of Abul Kalam Azad, tried in absentia — resulting in a death sentence in January 2013.

The tribunal's scope was significantly expanded after the 2024 uprising. Amendments to the ICT Act, enacted in November 2024 and applied retroactively, modernised and broadened the tribunal's jurisdiction to cover alleged state violence during the protests. Critics and legal observers have raised questions about the retroactive application of these amendments, though the tribunal has pressed forward with proceedings.

What Comes Next

With 18 of the condemned reportedly still at large — including Hasina herself, believed to be abroad — enforcing the verdicts will hinge on extradition arrangements that remain unresolved. The continued pace of trials signals that the ICT under its expanded mandate is far from finished, and further verdicts are widely expected in the months ahead.