Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) on Thursday, 29 October 2026, sentenced Mahbubul Alam Hanif, Joint General Secretary of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League, to death for crimes against humanity connected to the July 2024 mass uprising, according to local media reports. Three other senior party figures were handed life imprisonment in the same case, marking another significant escalation in the tribunal's proceedings against Awami League leadership.

The Verdict in Detail

A three-member bench led by Chairman Justice Nazrul Islam Chowdhury delivered the ruling. Hanif was convicted on counts 1 to 6 of the first charge and sentenced to death; he received an additional sentence of life imprisonment with hard labour after being found guilty on the second and third charges.

The three other accused — Sadar Uddin Khan, Azgar Ali, and Ataur Rahman Ata — were found guilty on counts 1 to 6 of the first charge and sentenced to life imprisonment with hard labour. Notably, all four defendants reportedly remain in hiding, according to the Dhaka Tribune.

A Pattern of Verdicts Against Awami League

This ruling is part of a widening crackdown on Awami League figures since the events of July 2024. 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 for 'crimes against humanity' in connection with the same uprising. The back-to-back verdicts signal an intensifying judicial campaign against the once-dominant party.

This is the latest in a series of death sentences the tribunal has handed down to Awami League leaders since 5 August 2024 — the date the party has cited as the starting point of what it describes as systematic judicial overreach.

Awami League Rejects the Ruling

The Awami League categorically rejected the verdicts, describing them as 'one-sided, biased and fabricated.' The party alleged that the proceedings represent a 'weaponisation of judiciary' designed to eliminate political opponents.

Pointing to the absence of the accused before the tribunal, the party stated: 'A fundamental standard of international criminal law is that even in trials conducted in absentia, minimum legal protections — including the right of the accused to choose counsel of their own liking — must be guaranteed. However, these guarantees have been completely ignored in the present tribunal.'

Concerns Over Due Process

The Awami League further alleged that the entire judicial process has been rushed, displaying what it characterised as 'utter disregard' for internationally recognised principles of human rights law and international criminal law, thereby promoting a 'culture of impunity and political vengeance' rather than the rule of law. The party stated that all ICT activities since 5 August 2024 constitute, in its view, a gross violation of international law and human rights. Independent legal observers have not yet issued a consolidated assessment, and the claims remain contested.

What Comes Next

With several senior Awami League figures already sentenced and the party's top leadership — including former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina — either abroad or in hiding, Bangladesh's political and legal landscape remains deeply unsettled. The ICT's continued proceedings are expected to draw further scrutiny from international human rights bodies, particularly given the in-absentia nature of the trials.