skip to contentAdvertisementRaising concerns over the process, the Human Rights Watch said Hasina and Khan were prosecuted in absentia, none of them were represented by the counsel of their choice.By: Express Web Desk November 18, 2025 01:29 PM IST First published on: Nov 18, 2025 at 01:26 PM IST ShareWhatsapptwitterFacebookThe HRW statement comes as Dhaka based tribunal found Hasina and Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, the former home minister, guilty of crimes against humanity. (File photo)The Human Rights Watch (HRW) has raised concerns over fair trial after the International Crimes Tribunal on Monday sentenced ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina to death on charges of crimes against humanity during last year’s student-led uprising, alleging that the process failed to meet international standards.The HRW statement comes as the Dhaka-based tribunal found Sheikh Hasina and Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, the former home minister, guilty of crimes against humanity during the violent suppression of student-led protests in 2024. A former police chief under Hasina, Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, who is in custody and served as a prosecution witness was given a jail sentence of five years.#Bangladesh court finds Sheikh Hasina, tried in absentia, guilty of crimes against humanity. While perpetrators should be held to account, international fair trial standards require a right to proper defense, concerns exacerbated by death sentences @hrw https://t.co/d2wCCvAevP— meenakshi ganguly (@meeganguly) November 18, 2025In a post on X on Tuesday, Meenakshi Ganguly, deputy Asia director of the Human Rights Watch wrote, “There is enduring anger and anguish in Bangladesh over Hasina’s repressive rule, but all criminal proceedings need to meet international fair trial standards.”Ganguly added, “Those responsible for horrific abuses under the Hasina administration should be held to account after impartial investigations and credible trials.”Raising concerns over the process, the Human Rights Watch said Hasina and Khan were prosecuted in absentia, none of them were represented by the counsel of their choice and were sentenced to death by the tribunal which has raised serious concerns over human rights.The HRW held that those responsible for the deaths and loss during the July and August 2024 uprising should be appropriately held to account but states that prosecution failed to meet international fair trial standards, including for a full opportunity to present a defence and question the witnesses against them.The United Nations has said the tribunal’s verdict against Hasina on charges of crimes against humanity is an “important moment” for the victims, however, it expressed regret for the imposition of the death penalty.AdvertisementAdvertisementLoading Taboola...