Political change and trials after the July 2024 uprisingCEFR B2
7 Apr 2026
Adapted from Abhimanyu Bandyopadhyay, Global Voices • CC BY 3.0
Photo by Bornil Amin, Unsplash
The July 2024 student-led rebellion set off wide political upheaval in Bangladesh. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was removed on 5 August 2024, and thousands of Awami League members left the country, with some seeking asylum in India, the UK and the US. In May 2025 the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government used the Anti-Terrorism Act to ban the Awami League.
Former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal left Bangladesh the same day as Hasina and is now living in Kolkata. On 17 November 2025 the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) sentenced Kamal to death for crimes against humanity linked to the July uprising. The three-member panel, headed by Justice Golam Mortuza Mozumder, found him liable alongside Sheikh Hasina and ordered confiscation of their properties and compensation to victims’ families.
After nearly nineteen months underground Kamal gave an in-person interview to Abhimanyu Bandyopadhyay. He described the 13th National Parliamentary Elections as a "total sham," alleging ballot stuffing and the use of advance voting slips, and he noted the rise of Jamaat-e-Islami to 68 seats. He cited a DGFI pre-election survey claiming 51 percent support for the Awami League, while the source carries an editor's note that the claim lacks public record. Kamal said the party would have won if allowed and that it will monitor the new administration.
He called the ban regressive, recalled earlier attacks such as the 21 August 2004 grenade attack that killed 24 leaders including Ivy Rahman and the 2005 bombings across 63 districts, and said law and order and the economy have suffered under the interim government. On legal matters he argued the ICT process was unlawful and closed to representation. He rejected claims of genocide during the uprising and questioned differing death tolls — his team recorded about 260 deaths, interim figures later rose from nearly 600 to about 800, and a UN figure cited nearly 1,400. Kamal said the Awami League is prepared to accept responsibility if wrongdoing is proven but demanded a fair judicial process and the chance to present its facts.
- July 2024: student-led uprising
- 5 August 2024: prime minister removed
- May 2025: Awami League banned
- 17 November 2025: ICT sentence
Difficult words
- rebellion — organized, often violent resistance against authority
- upheaval — sudden major change causing instability and disorder
- interim government — temporary administration ruling between regular governments
- confiscation — official taking of property by legal authority
- compensation — money paid to make up for harm
- ballot stuffing — illegal adding of votes to change results
- unlawful — not allowed by law or illegal
- genocide — deliberate killing of large group based on identity
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Discussion questions
- Do you think banning a major political party helps restore order? Why or why not, based on details in the article?
- What problems can arise when different sources report very different death tolls, as described in the text?
- Kamal says the ICT process was unlawful and closed to representation. How important is public representation in judicial processes, and why?
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