The appeal seeking to increase former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s sentence from life imprisonment to death for crimes against humanity during the July Revolution remains pending before Bangladesh’s Supreme Court. Although the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) delivered its verdict on November 17 last year, the prosecution has not yet begun the appeal hearing despite multiple listings in the Appellate Division’s schedule. The prosecution filed the appeal on December 15, but seven months have passed without progress.

The ICT had sentenced Hasina and former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to death in one charge and life imprisonment in another. Later, the prosecution sought to upgrade all sentences to death, citing the gravity of the crimes. The tribunal also added former IGP Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun as an accused, who later testified as an approver. Chief Prosecutor Aminul Islam admitted that his office was still unprepared for the hearing, though the law allows flexibility beyond the 60-day disposal period.

Legal observers have attributed the delay to the prosecution’s negligence and lack of initiative, leaving the appeal unresolved in the Supreme Court’s docket.