Mixed reactions in Bangladesh as former prime minister sentenced in absentia
By Katie O'Malley | November 18, 2025
Bangladesh (MNN) — On Monday, the International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh sentenced former prime minister Sheikh Hasina to death in absentia.
The court found the exiled leader guilty of ordering the lethal crackdown on student-led protests in 2024. Clashes with police led to the deaths of up to 1,400 people, with thousands more wounded. Many celebrate the verdict as justice for the dead. Others dismiss it as politically motivated.
Hasina is currently in India, where she lived decades ago after the assassination of her father, Bangladesh’s founding president. India’s Ministry of External Affairs has issued a statement acknowledging the Bangladeshi court’s verdict, but it has not said whether it will allow Hasina to be extradited.
“There’s outrage on both sides of it, and it’s just going to continue to accentuate the instabilities that are going on in Bangladesh and have been for a number of years,” says Greg Kelley with Unknown Nations.
“A lot of people that we speak to say for a 10- to 15-year run [under Hasina], there was a lot of real positive things in the development of the country. Yet at the same time, you’re talking about a country that has ranked among the highest — not only in Asia, but in the entire world —as far as levels of corruption. It’s hard to unweave those two things.”
The interim government, which has been in place since shortly after Hasina fled the country last year, has called for public order surrounding the verdict.
“Right now, there’s calls for lockdowns all over the place. A lot of the schools are not even operating today, tomorrow,” says Kelley.
For Christians, there’s another layer to be aware of. Bangladesh is a Muslim-majority nation with more than 270 people groups considered to be unreached with the gospel. The largest is the Bengali Muslims, numbering above 135 million. It’s also densely populated, which Kelley says makes any metropolitan demonstration incredibly disruptive.
“You’re talking about a country the size of Michigan, [which] has 10 million people, Bangladesh having 175 million people,” says Kelley. “The corruption [and] the instability on a physical level in Bangladesh pales in comparison to the desperation that that country has for the gospel.”
Partners of Unknown Nations give solar-powered audio Bibles. They see people turning to Jesus.
“In these countries where there’s so much turmoil and tension, everybody suffers. Everybody suffers,” says Kelley. “Just to survive in Bangladesh is becoming difficult, and then on top of that, you’ve got this incredibly intense persecution for those who do make the decision to follow Christ. Yet, we are hearing on a daily basis [of] people doing exactly that.”
Now that you know, please pray! Ask God to raise many more Christians to work in the nation faithfully.
Header photo: On the occasion of her repatriation day, Prime Minister and Awami League President Sheikh Hasina addressed the leaders of the party and its affiliated organizations today, Friday, May 17, 2024, at Ganabhaban. (Press Information Department – pressinform.gov.bd (archive), Public Domain)
Original Article Posted Here: https://www.mnnonline.org/news/mixed-reactions-in-bangladesh-as-former-prime-minister-sentenced-in-absentia/