Former Bangladesh leader Hasina sentenced to death for crackdown on uprising that ousted her

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Bangladesh’s ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and one of her close aides were sentenced to death Monday over her crackdown on a student uprising last year that killed hundreds of people and led to the toppling of her 15-year rule.

The International Crimes Tribunal based in Dhaka, the capital, passed sentence on Hasina and former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan for their involvement in the use of deadly force against protesters.

Hasina and Khan, who fled to India last year, were sentenced in absentia. India has so far declined to extradite them, making it unlikely that they would ever be executed or imprisoned.

Hasina, who was convicted on five charges of crimes against humanity, was also sentenced to prison until natural death for making inflammatory remarks and ordering the extermination of student protesters through the use of helicopters, drones, and lethal weapons.

A third suspect, a former police chief, was sentenced to five years in prison after becoming a state witness against Hasina and pleading guilty.

More than 800 people were killed and about 14,000 were injured in the student-led uprising in July and August of 2024, according to the health adviser to Bangladesh’s interim government. However, the United Nations in February estimated as many as 1,400 people were killed.

Hasina said the charges were unjustified, arguing that she and Khan “acted in good faith and were trying to minimize the loss of life.”

“We lost control of the situation, but to characterize what happened as a premeditated assault on citizens is simply to misread the facts,” she said Monday in a statement denouncing a verdict she called “biased and politically motivated."

Her Awami League party called for a national shutdown on Tuesday to protest the verdict.

Hasina, 78, cannot appeal the verdict unless she surrenders or is arrested within 30 days of the judgment.

Bangladesh is still grappling with instability after Hasina was ousted on Aug. 5, 2024. Political bickering, the rise of Islamists, and violations of human and political rights have overshadowed aspirations for a more democratic Bangladesh, human rights groups say.

Bangladeshi Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus took over as the head of an interim government three days after her fall. He has vowed to punish Hasina and banned the activities of the Awami League ahead of elections set for February.

A three-member tribunal, headed by Justice Golam Mortuza Mozumder, announced the ruling in a live broadcast that lasted for several hours.

Some of those in the packed courtroom cheered when Mazumder said Hasina was sentenced to death. He admonished them, telling them to express their feelings outside the courtroom.

Families of some of those killed or injured during the uprising waited for hours outside.

In a media statement Monday, Bangladesh’s Ministry of Home Affairs urged India to send both Hasina and Khan back soon, something New Delhi has so far refused to do.

Separately, Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry in a statement said it would be extremely unfriendly and demeaning to justice for any other country to grant asylum to these individuals convicted of crimes against humanity.

“We urge the Indian government to immediately hand over these two convicts to the Bangladeshi authorities. It is also a legal obligation for India as per the existing extradition treaty between the two countries," it said.

India’s foreign ministry in a statement acknowledged the verdict but did not say whether it would hand the pair over to Dhaka.

“As a close neighbor, India remains committed to the best interests of people of Bangladesh, including in peace, democracy, inclusion and stability in that country. We will always engage constructively with all stakeholders to that end,” it said.

India's failure to extradite the pair has created some tensions between the neighboring nations.

In a statement, Yunus said the verdict offered justice to the thousands who were harmed in the uprising: “No one, regardless of power, is above the law."

Ordering the use of lethal force against young people and children, whose only weapons were their voices, violated laws and the basic bond between government and citizens, Yunus added.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party, or BNP, headed by Hasina’s archrival, former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, hailed the verdict.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said in a Facebook post that it wasn’t just a judgment on Sheikh Hasina’s crimes, but a “burial of all forms of dictatorship on this country’s soil.”

Nearly 50 arson attacks, mostly targeting vehicles, and dozens of crude bombs explosions were reported nationwide over the past week. Two people were killed in the arson attacks, local media reported.

Authorities at the Supreme Court, in a letter to army headquarters on Sunday, requested the deployment of soldiers around the tribunal premises ahead of the ruling. Paramilitary border guards and police were deployed in Dhaka and many other parts of the country.

Even as judges were still reading out the verdict, police elsewhere in Dhaka charged with batons and used stun grenades to disperse crowds.

Her son Sajeeb Wazed, currently in the United States, said in a message to The Associated Press that the “verdict is a joke and meaningless. My mother is safe in India. The trials were so legally flawed they won’t survive any challenge once rule of law returns to Bangladesh.”

A few kilometers away from the tribunal, Hasina’s opponents gathered outside the home of her father, Bangladesh's independence hero Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, that is now a museum. They brought two excavators to finish the demolition of the building, which was looted and damaged during earlier protests.

By the time evening fell, more than 300 people were still there and burned tires on the streets in Dhanmondi neighborhood while police and soldiers failed to convince them to leave the area.

The uprising began with weeks of student-led protests voicing discontent over a quota system for allocating government jobs that critics said favored those with connections to Hasina’s party.

Hundreds of people were killed as security forces cracked down on the demonstrations — violence that only fueled them, even after the quota system was dramatically scaled back.

Associated Press journalist Rajesh Roy contributed from New Delhi.

Police use baton to disperse protesters gather outside the demolished residence of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladesh's former leader and the father of the country's ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina after the verdict against Hasina, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/ Rajib Dhar)

Police use stun grenades to disperse protesters gathering outside the demolished residence of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladesh's former leader and the father of the country's ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina following the verdict against her, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/ Rajib Dhar)

Protesters shout slogans outside the demolished residence of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladesh's former leader and the father of the country's ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina ahead of an expected verdict against Hasina, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahadul Karim Khan)

Protesters throw stones and shout slogans during a standoff with police outside the demolished residence of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladesh's former leader and the father of the country's ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina after the verdict against Hasina, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/ Rajib Dhar)

Police use baton to disperse protesters gather outside the demolished residence of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladesh's former leader and the father of the country's ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina ahead of an expected verdict against Hasina, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/ Ahadul Karim Khan)

Protesters shout slogans outside the demolished residence of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladesh's former leader and the father of the country's ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina ahead of an expected verdict against Hasina, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/ Ahadul Karim Khan)

A police man checks the bag of a commuter near International Crimes Tribunal after security has been beefed up across the country ahead of an expected verdict against ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Rajib Dhar)

Policemen stand guard outside International Crimes Tribunal after security has been beefed up across the country ahead of an expected verdict against ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Rajib Dhar)

Bangladeshi Army soldiers stand guard outside the Supreme Court after security have been beefed up across the country ahead of an expected verdict against ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Rajib Dhar)

Security personnel walk past a bus stop as ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her former ruling Awami League party called for a nationwide "lockdown" in protest against her trial, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)

Security personnel stand guard at a traffic intersection as ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her former ruling Awami League party called for a nationwide "lockdown" in protest against her trial, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)

FILE- Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina speaks during a press conference in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Jan. 6, 2014. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh, File)

Security personnel stand guard at Bangladesh's Supreme Court as ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her former ruling Awami League party called for a nationwide "lockdown" in protest against her trial in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Israel stepped up airstrikes on Iranian missile launchers and factories Tuesday, and Iran retaliated against Israel and across the Gulf region, disrupting energy supplies and travel. As explosions rang out in Tehran and in Lebanon — where Israel said it struck back at Hezbollah militants — the American embassy in Saudi Arabia came under drone attack.

Four days into a war that President Donald Trump suggested would last several weeks but perhaps longer, hundreds of people have been killed in Iran, including some Trump said he had considered as possible future leaders of the country.

Iran has fired dozens of ballistic missiles at Israel, setting off air raid sirens across the country. The pace of the attacks appeared to be slowing and Israel has intercepted most of the incoming fire, but some missiles have landed, killing 11 people.

The spiraling nature of the war raised questions about when and how it would end. Trump seemed to leave open the possibility for more extensive U.S. military involvement, telling the New York Post on Monday that he was not ruling out the possibility of boots on the ground.

The administration has given various objectives. While the initial U.S.-Israeli strikes killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Trump urged Iranians to overthrow their government, senior administration officials have since said regime change was not the goal.

Trump said Monday the military campaign’s four objectives were to destroy Iran’s missile capabilities, wipe out its navy, prevent it from obtaining a nuclear weapon and ensure that it cannot continue to support allied armed groups.

Trump said Tuesday that “someone from within” the Iranian regime might be the best choice to take power once the U.S.-Israel campaign is finished.

Speaking from the Oval Office Tuesday, Trump said Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s toppled Shah, is not someone that his administration has considered in depth to take over.

As far as possible leaders inside Iran, “the people we had in mind are dead,” Trump said.

“I guess the worst case would be do this, and then somebody takes over who’s as bad as the previous person, right? That could happen," Trump said. "We don’t want that to happen.”

Iran’s leaders are scrambling to replace Khamenei, who ruled the country for 37 years. It’s only the second time since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that a new supreme leader is being chosen. Potential candidates range from hard-liners committed to confrontation with the West to reformists who seek diplomatic engagement.

Information coming out of Iran has been limited because of poor communications, round-the-clock airstrikes and tight restrictions on journalists. But across Iran’s capital, aircraft were heard overhead and explosions rang out.

The Israeli military said it conducted a wave of airstrikes on sites that produce and store ballistic missiles, in Tehran and Isfahan.

The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog said Iran’s Natanz nuclear enrichment site had sustained “some recent damage,” though there was “no radiological consequence expected.” The U.S. hit Natanz during the 12-day war in June, when Israeli and American strikes greatly weakened Iran's nuclear program.

Without offering evidence, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed Iran was rebuilding “new sites, new places” underground for making atomic bombs. Iran has said it has not enriched uranium since June, though it has maintained its right to and says its nuclear program is peaceful.

After Hezbollah fired missiles at Israel on Monday, Israel retaliated. On Tuesday, the Israeli military hit Beirut with more airstrikes and said it had moved additional troops into southern Lebanon.

New rounds of U.S. and Israeli airstrikes rattled Tehran and several other Iranian cities.

“Since midnight, I and my wife are hearing sound of explosions,” said Ali Amoli, an engineer living in north Tehran. “Sometimes from the west side of the city and sometimes from other directions.” Streets and gas stations appeared quieter than in recent days.

Local media published images of a damaged commercial plane at Bushehr airport that broke apart following an airstrike on Tuesday.

A north Tehran resident who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation described growing fears in the capital as it comes under heavy bombardment. The resident said most stores in the normally bustling area of Tajrish were closed and that ATMs were mostly “out of cash.” Bakeries and supermarkets were open, though, the resident said.

An attack from two drones on the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh caused a “limited fire,” according to Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry, and the embassy urged Americans to avoid the compound. It followed an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait. U.S. Embassies in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Lebanon said they were closed to the public.

The U.S. State Department ordered the evacuation of non-emergency personnel and family in Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, Qatar, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates. In addition, the U.S. has urged citizens to leave more than a dozen Middle Eastern countries, though with much of the airspace closed many remained stranded.

The State Department said Tuesday it’s preparing military and charter flights for Americans who want to leave the Middle East. Several other countries arranged evacuation flights for their citizens.

The U.S.-Israeli strikes have killed at least 787 people in Iran, according to the Red Crescent Society. In Lebanon, where Israel launched retaliatory strikes on the Iranian-supported militant group Hezbollah, 40 people were killed, including seven children, in Lebanon, the health ministry said. The ministry had previously said 52 people were killed.

The U.S. military has confirmed six deaths of American service members. In addition, three people were killed in the United Arab Emirates, and one each in Kuwait and Bahrain.

Iran has hit many countries deemed safe havens in the Mideast in retaliation for the U.S.-Israeli strikes. Recent targets included two Amazon data centers in the United Arab Emirates and one in Bahrain.

Iran has also struck energy facilities in Qatar and Saudi Arabia, and attacked several ships in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of all oil traded passes, sending global oil and natural gas prices soaring.

“The Strait of Hormuz is closed,” declared Iranian Brig. Gen. Ebrahim Jabbari, an adviser to the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, vowing that any ships that passed through it would be set on fire.

This story has been updated to correct that communications in Iran are poor, but that the internet isn't shut down. It also clarifies that more than one drone hit the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia. Some instances referred to just one drone.

Becatoros reported from Athens, Greece, and Magdy from Cairo. Seung Min Kim, Michelle Price and Konstantin Toropin in Washington, David Rising in Bangkok, Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, Hallie Golden in Seattle, Giovanna Dell'Orto in Miami, and Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, contributed to this report.

A firefighter extinguishes fire at a building that was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A woman crosses almost deserted square with a billboard at rear showing a portrait of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the U.S.–Israeli military campaign, in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Smoke rises from a destroyed building that was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

An Iranian flag is placed among the ruins of a police station struck Monday during the U.S.–Israeli military campaign in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Smoke rises from Israeli airstrikes in Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Jewish men covered in prayer shawls pray in an underground parking garage as a precaution against possible Iranian missile attacks, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

A group of men inspects the ruins of a police station struck Monday amid the U.S.–Israeli military campaign in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Smoke rises from Israeli airstrikes in Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

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A worker instals a billboard on an overpass containing a portrait of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed during the ongoing joint U.S.-Israeli military campaign, in Tehran, Iran, Monday, March 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

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