In modern political history, few leaders have fallen as dramatically—and as controversially—as Sheikh Hasina. Once hailed internationally as a stabilizing force in South Asia and a determined opponent of Islamist extremism, Bangladesh’s longest-serving elected prime minister now finds herself condemned to death in absentia by a tribunal whose legitimacy is deeply disputed. Her downfall is not merely the story of a leader out of power; it is a warning of how judicial mechanisms can be weaponized by radical forces to complete what street violence and political agitation alone could not achieve.

Since the regime change of July–August 2024, Sheikh Hasina has steadily transformed from a powerful political actor into what many observers describe as a prime victim of Islamist revenge and judicial terror. On November 17, 2025, Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) sentenced her to death in absentia for “crimes against humanity,” accusing her of allowing lethal force against protesters. The verdict shocked international observers, but inside Bangladesh it was widely anticipated—less as an act of justice than as the final stage of a long-planned political purge.

The composition and conduct of the tribunal itself raise profound concerns. From judges to prosecutors to defense counsel, the ICT is widely perceived as being dominated by figures aligned with Jamaat-e-Islami, a party that Sheikh Hasina spent more than a decade politically marginalizing and legally dismantling. That the country’s strongest secular leader and most consistent opponent of Islamist militancy would be judged by institutions influenced by her ideological adversaries has........

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