Dhaka: People celebrate after the International Tribunal sentenced former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to death in absentia for crimes against humanity, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Monday, November 17, 2025. | Photo credits: –
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “completely” agrees with UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk on the position that “we are against the use of the death penalty under all circumstances,” the UN chief’s spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at the daily press conference here on Monday.
Dujarric was responding to a question about the Secretary General’s response to a Bangladesh court sentencing Hasina to death in absentia.
Bangladesh’s International Crime Tribunal on Monday found Hasina guilty of crimes against humanity committed during widespread protests against her government in July last year.
Hasina, 78, who has been living in India since her government was overthrown on August 5 last year, was sentenced to death in absentia by the tribunal. Hasina’s aide and former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal was also sentenced to death on similar charges.
Dujarric referred to a statement from Turk’s office on the verdict, noting that U.N. human rights officials “have been diligently calling for perpetrators, including individuals in leadership positions, to be held accountable.”
“Accountability is crucial. It is of course very important that the people of Bangladesh remain calm after the confirmation of the verdict and that everyone reacts with restraint to these developments,” he said.
Geneva-based U.N. human rights spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said in a statement that the tribunal’s rulings against Hasina and the former interior minister “mark an important moment for the victims of the serious violations committed during the suppression of protests last year.”
“We also regret the introduction of the death penalty, which we oppose under all circumstances,” she said.
Shamdasani noted that since the UN investigation report was published in February, “we have called for perpetrators, including those in leadership positions, to be held accountable, in accordance with international standards. We have also called for victims’ access to effective remedies and reparations.”
The UN rights office report estimates that up to 1,400 people were killed during the student-led mass protests between July 15 and August 15 as the Hasina-led government ordered a sweeping security response.
Shamdasani said that while the UN Human Rights Office was not aware of the conduct of Hasina’s trial, “we have consistently advocated that all accountability proceedings, especially on allegations of international crimes, meet without question international standards of due process and fair trial. This is especially critical when, as was the case here, the trials were conducted in absentia and resulted in a death penalty.”
Underscoring Turk’s call for calm and restraint, she said the High Commissioner hopes that Bangladesh will move forward with a comprehensive process of truth-telling, reparation and justice as a path to national reconciliation and healing.
“This should include meaningful and transformative security sector reform that respects international standards to ensure that these violations and abuses are never repeated,” Shamdasani said, adding that the UN stands ready to support the government and people of Bangladesh in these efforts.
Published on November 18, 2025
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