A special tribunal in Bangladesh has handed down a death sentence to a former high-ranking minister from Sheikh Hasina’s administration for his involvement in the deaths of six individuals during the 2024 civil unrest. Md Mahbubul Alam Hanif, the former joint general secretary of the Awami League, was sentenced in absentia, while three other prominent party members received life imprisonment. In a move to address the suffering of the victims' families, the court also ordered the seizure of half of the convicts' immovable assets to serve as financial compensation.

The legal proceedings are part of a broader reckoning following the violent crackdown on student-led protests that claimed approximately 1,400 lives between July and August 2024. This recent ruling brings the total number of convictions related to the uprising to 72, with 23 individuals now facing death sentences. As the current administration pushes for legal accountability, the ousted leader Sheikh Hasina—who was herself sentenced to death in absentia last year—remains in India, though she has publicly claimed she intends to return to Bangladesh by the end of the year.