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Bangladesh’s ousted leader Sheikh Hasina sentenced to death

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4 months ago

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Weeks of unrest in Bangladesh last July ousted Sheikh Hasina, who has since fled to India [BBC]

Bangladesh’s former prime minister has been sentenced to death for crimes against humanity over her crackdown on student-led protests which led to her ousting.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of allowing lethal force to be used against protesters, 1,400 of whom died during the unrest last year.

Hasina was tried in absentia by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being behind hundreds of killings during the protests and families of those killed or injured called for tough penalties. Hasina has denied all charges, calling the trial “biased and politically motivated”.

The months-long tribunal in Bangladesh’s domestic war crimes court was widely expected to find her guilty.

But the verdict marks a pivotal moment for the nation, vindicating protests that found their roots in anger over years of repression under her rule.

Hasina had governed Bangladesh for 15 years, overseeing economic progress, but increasingly attempting to silence opposition, with politically-motivated arrests, disappearances and extra-judicial killings.

The protests saw Hasina forced to flee and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus installed as leader of an interim government.

Reacting to the verdict on Monday in a five-page statement, Hasina said the death penalty was the interim government’s way of “nullifying her party the Awami League as a political force” and that she was proud of her government’s record on human rights.

“I am not afraid to face my accusers in a proper tribunal where the evidence can be weighed and tested fairly.”

The student-led uprising last year started with demands to abolish government job quotas but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.

AFP via Getty Images Students clashed with the police during the 2024 protests in Dhaka.
Students clashed with the police during the 2024 protests in Dhaka [BBC]

UN human rights investigators said in a report in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could amount to “crimes against humanity”.

The report documented the shooting at point-blank range of some protesters, the deliberate maiming of others, arbitrary arrests and torture.

Leaked audio of one of Hasina’s phone calls verified by BBC Eye earlier this year suggested she had authorised the use of “lethal weapons” in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the trial.

Ahead of the verdict, the capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under tightened security, with many of Hasina’s critics staging a rally and cheering as the judgement was read.

The city has seen a recent spike in unrest, with dozens of bombs exploded and buses set on fire in the days leading up to the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, local police official Jisanul Haque told the BBC.

Family members of those killed during the protests earlier told the BBC they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

Ramjan Ali, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted “exemplary punishment” for Hasina and others who have “committed acts of vengeance and abused their power”.

Lucky Akther, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina’s sentence to be “carried out before the election”.

“Only then the families of those killed [in the protests] will find peace in their hearts.”

Since Hasina’s ousting, an interim government led by economist Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A parliamentary election is scheduled for February 2026.

However, the Awami League, Hasina’s political party, was banned by Bangladesh’s interim government in May.

Hasina warned last month that if the party’s candidates were banned from standing in the upcoming election, millions would boycott the vote.

The verdict now poses a diplomatic challenge for India and Bangladesh. Dhaka has formally requested her extradition but so far India has shown no willingness to comply so her death sentence is unlikely to be carried out.

Hasina’s state-appointed lawyer Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was “sad and wishes the verdict had been different”.

“I even cannot appeal because my clients are absent; that’s why I am sad,” he added.

Last week, Hasina’s lawyers said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN, raising serious fair trial and due process issues at the ICT. She says she has “repeatedly challenged” the interim government to bring its charges to the International Criminal Court in the Hague.

Lightrocket/Getty Images Anti-government protesters storm Hasina's palace in Dhaka
Anti-government protesters stormed Hasina’s palace in Dhaka in August 2024 [BBC]

Hasina was tried alongside her former home minister and police chief.

While the sentence offers some closure to families of killed in the protests, it may do little to soothe the country’s political divisions.

“The anger against Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League has not subsided,” Shireen Huq, a Dhaka-based rights activists told the BBC. “Neither she nor the party has apologised or shown any remorse for the killings of hundreds of people.”

She said “it makes it difficult for the party to be accepted by a majority of people in this country”.

Ms Huq added that the punishment was not closure for the families of those killed and injured.

“We work with several people who lost their limbs forever, they are amputees now, due to the crackdown. They will never be able to forgive her.”

David Bergman, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the “very nature of the conviction could make it even more difficult” for Awami League to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.

This may change if “there is some kind of apology and a distancing from Sheikh Hasina and the old leadership”, he said.

[BBC]

 


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Amelia Kerr hits 139-ball 179* as New Zealand pull off record chase to level series

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5 hours ago

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2026/04/1

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Amelia Kerr ended with 179 not out off just 139 balls [Cricinfo]

It was the Amelia Kerr show at Basin Reserve on Wednesday as she played the sort of innings that would go into cricket folklore if it were played at a World Cup instead of a bilateral series, to completely hog the limelight in a match with three other knocks of note and a total of 696 runs in 99.4 overs. Amelia scored 179 not out in 139 balls. And as New Zealand crossed South Africa’s 346 with two balls left, it became the highest successful chase  in women’s ODI history.

The result hardly seemed like when New Zealand, faced with a chase of 347, lost Suzie Bates in the fifth over, bowled by Ayabonga Khaka. Amelia settled in fast, but by the midway stage, New Zealand were four down, Kayla Reyneke striking twice and Sune Luus once as Georgia Plimmer, Maddy Green and Brooke Halliday all fell without making a significant contribution.

Amelia finally found the partner she needed in Isabella Gaze, the wicketkeeper-batter at No. 6. Together, the two of them 120 runs in 82 balls, Amelia scoring 47 of those runs in 34 balls to Gaze’s enterprising 68 in 48, studded with 11 fours.

By the time Gaze fell, becoming the first of two wickets in the game for Masabata Klaas, New Zealand had bounced right back and were in with a strong sniff. Amelia, by then on 113 off 97 balls, looked in the mood.

And then, with the lower-order batters for company, Amelia did what she had to: speed up. She scored a-run-a-ball 23 in a 40-run stand with Izzy Sharp, then 25 in 12 balls with her sister Jess, Rosemary Mair came and went, and then Amelia finished the job in the company of debutant Kayley Knight with two balls left. Amelia had reached her century – her fifth in ODIs, which includes a double-century – off 90 balls, and the 79 she scored after that came off just 49 more.

Earlier, South Africa would have felt happy with their performance with the bat after New Zealand had won the toss and asked them to bat, having lost the first game batting first, though not out of choice.

New Zealand struck early, removing Tazmin Brits in the eighth over, but then had to wait till the 28th before they got lucky again. In between, Laura Wolvaardt (69 in 74 balls) and Anneke Bosch (91 in 90) had added 132 runs in 124 balls, and South Africa were clearly on top.

South Africa continued to get strong partnerships with many of their batters settling in and showing form: 44 between Bosch and Luus (40), 34 between Luus and Sinalo Jafta (37), 40 between Jafta and Chloe Tryon (52*), 36 in just 18 balls between Tryon and Nadine de Klerk (18), and 25 in 12 balls for the unbroken seventh wicket between Tryon and Reyneke (9*). All of that added up to a very healthy total despite Bree Illing’s 3 for 60 and Knight’s 2 for 65, and South Africa would have expected the finish the night with the series in the bag, till Amelia decided otherwise.

Brief scores:
New Zealand Women 350 for 8 in 49.4 overs  (Amelia Kerr 179*, Isabella Gaze 68; Ayabonga Khaka 3-51, Kayla Reyneke 2-54, Masabata  Klaas 2-61) beat South Africa Women  346 for 6 (Anneke Bosch 91, Laura Wolvaardt 69, Chloe Tryon 52*, Sune Luus 40; Bree  Illing 3-60, Kaylee Knight 2-65) by two wickets

[Cricinfo]

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Ice-cool Connolly leads nervy Punjab Kings home on IPL debut

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10 hours ago

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2026/04/1

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Cooper Connolly was the Player of the Match on his IPL debut [Cricinfo]

Punjab Kings 165 for 7 in 19.1 overs (Cooper Connolly 72*, Prabhsimran Singh 37, Shreyas Iyer 18, Xavier Bartlett 11*; Kagsio Rabada 1-13, Ashok Sharma 1-31, Rashid Khan 1-29, Washington Sundar 1-27, Prasidh Krishna 3-29) beat Gujarat Titans 162 for 6 in 20 overs  (Sai Sudarshan 13, Shubman Gill 39, Joss Buttler 38, Glenn Phillips 25, Washington Sundar 18, Rahul Tewatia 11*; Marco Jansen 1-20, Vijayakumar Vyshak 3-34, Yuzvendra Chahal 2-28) by three wickets

Gujarat Titans (GT) stopped Punjab Kings (PBKS) in their tracks but could not stop them from going over the finish line in New Chandigarh. Cooper Connolly steered the hosts home in a chase that began authoritatively before taking nervy turns.

Prabhsimran Singh led the initial charge alongside Connolly before Prasidh Krishna initiated a collapse that derailed the chase. But with help from Marco Jansen and Xavier Bartlett, Connolly took PBKS home with five balls to spare.

GT had a sub-par outing with the bat, with three of their top four getting off to good starts but none of them capitalising. Yuzvendra Chahal was back to his best, taking out Shubman Gill and Jos Buttler, who top-scored with 39 and 38 respectively.

PBKS’ bowlers conceded 14 extras, 11 of which were wides, four of them coming in the final over by Arshdeep Singh. Perhaps the more relevant stat separating the teams was that GT hit three sixes in their innings and PBKS as many as 14.

Chahal came on with GT well set on 65 for 1 off 7 overs. He bowled slow, and varied his lines against Gill to dismiss him fourth time in the IPL. This time, it was a slog sweep that carried to deep midwicket.

There were a couple of near-chances in the 11th over, one a caught-and-bowled chance off Buttler and then one off Glenn Phillips, who hit an airy four that went just wide of Shreyas Iyer at cover. Chahal returned in the 16th, after a three-over break, with Buttler batting on 38 off 30 and itching for runs. Two dots later, Buttler looked to clear long-on but Bartlett used his height and reach to take an excellent high catch.

Vijaykumar Vyshak bowled across phases and found success later in the innings. Buttler and Gill took him on initially, hitting two fours and a six in his first two overs, the sixth and eighth of the GT innings. He came back and got Glenn Phillips to hole out to long-off in the 14th.

He saved the best for the death, bowling slower balls, either into the pitch or pitched right up. The first variant got Washington Sundar caught, cutting to deep point, and the latter had Shahrukh Khan slogging to deep square leg.

The pitch seemed flat early on as Gill, Sai Sudharsan and Buttler started with a flurry of fours. Nine in the first six overs, in fact. There were drives, pulls and flicks, and a gorgeous back-foot punch by Buttler off Vyshak.

The slowdown came in the middle overs, which saw GT make 77 for 3. Buttler faced 14 dots in his 33-ball 38, Gill, having rocketed to 27 off 15, made just 12 off his last 12 balls.

Phillips got off to a promising start on GT debut, hitting Chahal for a six and a four within his first eight balls at the crease. He missed out on a couple of boundaries because of Marco Jansen’s fielding at long-off. In the end, three of the top-four batters got to 25 but none went past 39.

After Kagiso Rabada dismissed Priyansh Arya cheaply, Connolly and Prabhsimran took him on: they hit three sixes in the fourth over, the same as GT’s innings tally.

Connolly then used Ashok Sharma’s pace to carve a length ball over cover point. He then hit two sixes off successive Rashid overs while Prabhsimran did the same off Washington Sundar.

However, Prabhsimran couldn’t get going against Rashid. He faced eight balls and scored just two before charging the legspinner and finding Prasidh at long-on. PBKS were 83 for 1 in the tenth over.

The momentum didn’t flag with that wicket, as Shreyas hit sixes off back-to-back short balls from Ashok. But out of nowhere, Prasidh dismissed the PBKS captain, who chipped a half-volley straight to deep midwicket.

This brought about a burst of T20-style wickets where the field mattered more than the quality of the ball. Nehal Wadhera cut a shortish slower ball straight to cover. Shashank Singh, looking to run the ball to deep third, nicked to the keeper off Prasidh. Marcus Stoinis, off Prasidh again, carved a shortish ball to deep third. PBKS had lost four wickets in the space of 16 balls for eight runs.

At 121 for 6, with PBKS needing 42 off 30, the game was flipping. But Connolly was ice-cool against Rabada. He punished two short balls to bookend the 16th over, the first cut over backward point for four to bring up his fifty and the last one pulled over square leg for six.

The pressure was eased at the other end as Jansen and Bartlett pulled Prasidh for sixes in the 17th and 19th overs respectively. That was where PBKS effectively sealed the game.

Brief scores:
Punjab Kings 165 for 7 in 19.1 overs (Cooper Connolly 72*, Prabhsimran Singh 37, Shreyas Iyer 18, Xavier Bartlett 11*; Kagsio Rabada 1-13, Ashok Sharma 1-31, Rashid Khan 1-29, Washington Sundar 1-27, Prasidh Krishna 3-29) beat Gujarat Titans 162 for 6 in 20 overs  (Sai Sudarshan 13, Shubman Gill 39, Joss Buttler 38, Glenn Phillips 25, Washington Sundar 18, Rahul Tewatia 11*; Marco Jansen 1-20, Vijayakumar Vyshak 3-34, Yuzvendra Chahal 2-28) by three wickets

[Cricinfo]

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Heat Index at Caution Level in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Eastern, North-western, Northern and North-central provinces and in Monaragala district

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14 hours ago

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2026/04/1

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Warm Weather Advisory
Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre
Issued at 3.30 p.m. on 31 March 2026, valid for 01 April 2026.

The Heat index, the temperature felt on human body is likely to increase up to ‘Caution level’ at some places in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Eastern, North-western, Northern and North-central provinces and in Monaragala district.

The Heat Index Forecast is calculated by using relative humidity and maximum temperature and this is the condition that is felt on your body. This is not the forecast of maximum temperature. It is generated by the Department of Meteorology for the next day period and prepared by using global numerical weather prediction model data.

Effect of the heat index on human body is mentioned in the above table and it is prepared on the advice of the Ministry of Health and Indigenous Medical Services.

ACTION REQUIRED
Job sites: Stay hydrated and takes breaks in the shade as often as possible.
Indoors: Check up on the elderly and the sick.
Vehicles: Never leave children unattended.
Outdoors: Limit strenuous outdoor activities, find shade and stay hydrated.
Dress: Wear lightweight and white or light-colored clothing.

Note:
In addition, please refer to advisories issued by the Disaster Preparedness & Response Division, Ministry of Health in this regard as well. For further clarifications please contact 011-7446491.

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