Bangladesh: Awami League Leader Mahbubul Alam Hanif Sentenced to Death

The International Crimes Tribunal-2 delivered the verdict in a case concerning the killing of six people in Kushtia district during the July 2024 mass uprising.

Mahbubul Alam Hanif, joint general secretary of Bangladesh’s Awami League, has been sentenced to death for the killing of six people in Kushtia during the student-led uprising in July 2024. Three other Awami League leaders were sentenced to life imprisonment in the same case. According to Bangladeshi media, the verdict was delivered on Thursday by a three-member bench of International Crimes Tribunal-2, which handles crimes against humanity cases. The case relates to the deaths of six people in Kushtia during the July 2024 student movement against the Awami League government.

The prosecution concluded its arguments on October 5, seeking the harshest possible punishment for all the accused. All four leaders sentenced in the case are currently fugitives. The tribunal also ordered the confiscation of half of their immovable property. The court directed that proceeds from the sale of the seized property be distributed as compensation to those killed or injured during the July 2024 uprising, through the July Foundation or another relevant government institution.

Alongside Hanif, those sentenced to life imprisonment include Sadruddin Khan, the Awami League’s local president in Kushtia district and a former chairman of the district council; district general secretary Asghar Ali; and city general secretary Ataur Rahman Ata. The first charge against Hanif was that he endorsed inflammatory statements made by Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader and incited violence against protesters by describing them as criminals and communal elements. According to the prosecution, these statements encouraged the use of lethal weapons against demonstrators, contributing to violence in which more than 1,400 people were killed and over 25,000 injured nationwide.

The second charge alleged that, during a party meeting in Kushtia on July 27, 2024, Hanif instructed the other three leaders—Sadruddin Khan, Asghar Ali and Ataur Rahman Ata—to use full force to suppress the protest movement. He was also accused of facilitating attacks on demonstrators. According to the prosecution, acting on the alleged instructions of then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the accused, with the assistance of local leaders and police, arranged for unarmed protesters to be fired upon in Kushtia on August 5. Six people were killed and several others sustained serious injuries in the incident.

In November 2025, Bangladesh’s former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was sentenced to death by the International Crimes Tribunal after being found guilty of crimes against humanity and involvement in a crackdown on student protests during July and August 2024. She was accused of directly ordering security forces to use lethal weapons to suppress peaceful demonstrations that began over the government’s quota system. At least 1,400 people were killed during the protests, according to the figures cited in the case. The student movement, which initially began as a campaign against the quota system, subsequently developed into a broader uprising that brought an end to Hasina’s 15-year rule. After being ousted from power on August 5, 2024, Hasina fled to neighbouring India by helicopter, where she remains.