Security has been tightened across Bangladesh as authorities prepare for Monday’s verdict by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT-BD) against former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who is being tried in absentia for alleged crimes against humanity linked to last year’s violent protests. Police in Dhaka have been authorised to shoot those engaging in arson or bomb attacks with intent to kill, amid a surge in violent incidents ahead of the judgment.
Security measures intensified across Bangladesh
With tensions escalating, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) personnel have been deployed in Dhaka, Gopalganj, Faridpur and Madaripur following a series of crude bomb explosions and arson attacks. Home affairs adviser Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said law enforcement agencies had completed preparations to prevent unrest.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner SM Sazzat Ali confirmed that officers were directed to take action against attackers involved in serious violence. “Anyone who sets a bus on fire or hurls crude bombs with intent to kill should be shot,” he said, adding that the law authorises such action.
Tribunal set to deliver verdict in absentia
The ICT-BD will announce its verdict on Monday against the 78-year-old Awami League leader, who left Bangladesh for India in August 2024 amid massive protests over a controversial job quota system. Prosecutors have sought the maximum punishment and seizure of the convicts’ property for distribution among victims’ families.
Hasina, along with then home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, faces charges including murder, attempted murder and other inhumane acts. While Hasina and Kamal were declared fugitives, Mamun appeared in court and later turned approver.
Under ICT-BD law, Hasina cannot appeal the verdict unless she is arrested or surrenders within 30 days.
Rising political tensions ahead of verdict
Authorities say several attacks in the past days—including crude bomb explosions targeting public transport and institutions linked to interim chief adviser Muhammad Yunus—are tied to groups protesting the tribunal proceedings. Police have arrested at least 18 Awami League activists.
Hasina’s supporters maintain the charges are politically motivated. She has previously called the tribunal a “kangaroo court” and accused the interim government of working under political vendetta. A UK-based law firm has also appealed to the United Nations, alleging the trial environment lacks fairness.
Broadcast arrangements and troop request
The prosecution said parts of the verdict will be broadcast live by state-run television and streamed via social platforms, subject to tribunal approval. The Supreme Court has written twice to the Army Headquarters requesting troop deployment around the tribunal to strengthen security.
Background to the case
According to a February 2025 UN rights office report, around 1,400 people were killed during last year’s “July Uprising” after Hasina’s government ordered a crackdown on protesters. After fleeing to India on August 5, 2024, she was replaced by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus as head of the interim government, which later sought her extradition.
The ICT-BD, originally set up in 2010 under Hasina’s government to prosecute 1971 war criminals, was amended by the interim administration to enable trials of leaders from the previous regime—paving the way for this case.