The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) of Bangladesh has sentenced seven former ministers and senior officials of the Awami League and its allied outfits to death on Tuesday (September 15, 2026). Among those who have received the death sentence is Obaidul Quader, former minister of road transport and bridges of Bangladesh, who also served as the General Secretary of the Awami League.
Others on the list are former Joint General Secretary A.F.M. Bahauddin Nasim, Former Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Mohammed Ali Arafat, former Chairman of Jubo League Shekh Fazle Shams Parash, former General Secretary Moinul Hossein Nikhil, Central Secretary of Chhatra League Saddam Hossein, and General Secretary Wali Asif Enan.
During the Sheikh Hasina years, Obaidul Quader was considered one of the most powerful individuals who had risen through nationwide campaign and coordination with the Awami League workers. Following the fall of Sheikh Hasina on August 5, 2024, he, along with Mr. Arafat, is known to have lived in exile.
The verdict was delivered by a three-member tribunal of the ICT, led by Justice Nozrul Islam Chowdhury. Justice Md Manjurul Basit and Justice Nur Mohammad Shahriar Kabir were the other two members of the tribunal.
While Mr. Quader has not given any media interviews since leaving Bangladesh in August 2024, Mr. Arafat has remained active on social media and has spoken on video link at a press conference organised by the Awami League on January 23 this year at the Foreign Correspondents Club (FCC) which was also the venue of Sheikh Hasina’s latest video press interaction of August 5, 2026.
On November 17, 2025, Sheikh Hasina and the former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal were given a death sentence in absentia for their roles during the uprising of July-August 2024, when hundreds of protesters had died because of a crackdown by the police and security agencies. Ms. Hasina has refused to apologise for the casualties.
In an interview with The Hindu earlier this month, Ms. Hasina had said that she was not directly in contact with police officials when the uprising was taking place. “When police are working in the field, how can they contact the Prime Minister for every action? Police operate under standard operating procedures. They are trained to handle emergencies, crowd control and violent situations. When police personnel were attacked and killed, and police stations were set on fire, they responded according to the situation,” said Ms. Hasina to The Hindu.
