The National Citizen Party has welcomed the death sentence handed down to deposed prime minister and Awami League President Sheikh Hasina for crimes against humanity and demanded that not only individuals but also the Awami League be brought to book as a political party.

NCP Convener Nahid Islam made the demand at a press conference held at the party’s central office in Dhaka on Monday afternoon.

The International Crimes Tribunal-1 on Monday sentenced Hasina and former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to death, and jailed former inspector general of police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun for five years, in a crimes against humanity case linked to last year’s July mass uprising.

Nahid said that the verdict must be executed swiftly with immediate steps to repatriate Hasina from New Delhi.

“The death sentence must be carried out after bringing her back [from India] within one month,” he added. 

New Delhi will always engage constructively with all stakeholders regarding peace, democracy, inclusion and stability in Bangladesh, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement on Monday.

“As a close neighbour, India remains committed to the best interests of the people of Bangladesh, including in peace, democracy, inclusion and stability in that country,” the statement noted, adding India will maintain ties with all stakeholders to that end.

The interim government has acknowledged that heightened sentiments among general people are natural following Monday’s “historic” death sentence for Sheikh Hasina, but warned of strict actions against any over-enthusiastic emotions that cause unrest.

No one should allow their emotions to lead to actions that could disrupt public order, the government said in a statement, urging citizens to remain peaceful, composed, and responsible.

Any attempt to create chaos, disorder, or destabilise law and order “would be met with strict action,” it said.

NCP Member Secretary Akhter Hossen has said that the souls of the martyrs will find peace not just through an announcement of death sentence against Sheikh Hasina, but through its execution.

“We urge the government to enforce the death sentence on Sheikh Hasina without delay," Akhter said when expressing his reaction to the sentence delivered on Monday.

Akhter also argued that the announced punishment reflected only a small portion of numerous crimes, adding that full justice would be achieved only when all such allegations are addressed.

The government of India must hand over Hasina to Bangladesh's justice system, Akhter added.

International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) Chief Prosecutor Muhammad Tajul Islam has said that any court in the world would have announced the same punishment against a dictator like Sheikh Hasina if presented with the evidence submitted in the case.

Expressing his satisfaction over Monday's death sentence against Hasina, the ICT chief prosecutor said that with the verdict, Bangladesh has proven its capacity to try complex crimes such as crimes against humanity while maintaining all international norms and standards.

The existing bilateral extradition agreement between Bangladesh and India requires New Delhi to transfer ousted dictator Sheikh Hasina and former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan to Dhaka, said the Bangladesh foreign ministry in a statement on Monday.

The foreign ministry also said that granting shelter to individuals convicted of crimes against humanity would be considered an unfriendly act and a disregard for justice. 

BNP Standing Committee Member Salahuddin Ahmed described Monday’s verdict against ousted dictator Sheikh Hasina as a milestone, though he said the punishment is not “sufficient considering the gravity of the crimes.”

Salahuddin said, “Although the sentence is not sufficient considering the crimes, it will serve as an example so that no future government or individual can turn into a fascist.”

“This verdict proves that no matter how powerful fascism becomes, no matter how tightly it holds on to power, one day it must stand in the dock of a court,” the BNP leader added.

Law Adviser Asif Nazrul on Monday said another letter will be sent to India asking New Delhi to extradite Sheikh Hasina, who has been sentenced to death for crimes against humanity committed during the July mass uprising.

He made the remark in a briefing held at the Secretariat minutes after the verdict was announced.

The adviser said, “We will write to India again to have Sheikh Hasina extradited to Bangladesh. If India continues to give shelter to this mass murderer, then India must understand that it is engaging in hostility and a reprehensible act against Bangladesh and its people.”

Attorney General Md Asaduzzaman said that one of the most significant verdicts in Bangladesh’s history was delivered on Monday.

“Through this verdict, the martyrs have received justice, the state has received justice, and the prosecution has received justice. Owing to the authority’s responsibility toward the martyrs, the country, the people of this nation, the Constitution, the rule of law, and the future generations, this verdict is groundbreaking,” he said in his immediate reaction after the International Crimes Tribunal delivered the death sentence verdict against Sheikh Hasina.

Fugitive former prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday called the guilty verdict and death sentence in her crimes against humanity trial "biased and politically motivated".

Hasina, 78, defied court orders that she return from India to attend her trial about whether she ordered a deadly crackdown against the student-led uprising that ousted her. She was found guilty and sentenced to death earlier on Monday.

As the death penalty was announced against Sheikh Hasina, cheers erupted both inside and outside court. There is a small group of people who are chanting slogans demanding the guilty be hanged. 

The applause inside the court lasted a few seconds before the court requested those present inside to maintain court decorum.

In the verdict, the tribunal said that the charges against Sheikh Hasina and the two other accused have been proven.

Sheikh Hasina has been sentenced to death in two of the charges.

Former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal has been sentenced to death in one charge.

As an approver (prosecution witness), former Inspector General of Police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun has been sentenced to five years in prison.

Ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was sentenced along with her former interior minister and police chief.

They were found guilty of allowing the use of lethal force against protesters and failing to prevent atrocities against them.

The court read out all charges against the accused, detailing the scale of the violence in the police action.

The deposed leader denies all charges in the crackdown where the UN says hundreds were killed.

The protests ended with Hasina fleeing to India, where she has been living ever since. She was tried in absentia by a special tribunal.

Among those on trial, only former police chief Abdullah al-Mamun was present for the sentencing.

Actress Meher Afroz Shaon has described the people who brought two bulldozers to Dhanmondi 32 on Monday as “Razakar forces”.

Sharing a BBC Bangla news card with the headline “Two Bulldozers Being Taken to Dhanmondi,” Shaon wrote: "The fear in your hearts is the real fear, you donkey gang! Even after breaking and burning repeatedly, your fear hasn’t gone… How can I deny that every speck of dust from this demolished house has mixed into the air and sky of Bangladesh, you Razakar forces!"

She also included the hashtags #YouAreRazakar and #Dhanmondi32 in her post.

Earlier, we reported that hundreds of protesters were marching toward Dhanmondi 32, the former residence of Sheikh Hasina's father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Armed police officers have intervened to stop the protesters. Here are some pictures from the scene.

The residence, which is currently abandoned, has been targeted and set on fire several times since Hasina's ouster in August last year.

Abdur Rob, the father of July Uprising martyr Miraz, said that only those who has lost a child like he did can understand "how heavy the body of a child is".

He demanded the highest punishment for deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina, whom he accused of ordering the killings that took place during the July Uprising.

Families of the July martyrs have called for the death penalty for deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina in the case over alleged crimes against humanity during the July uprising. They made this demand on Monday outside the International Crimes Tribunal.

Syed Gaziur Rahman, father of Syed Muntasir Rahman—who was killed during the July mass uprising—said, “For the disappearances and killings Sheikh Hasina has committed, even fourteen thousand executions would not be enough. But a person can only be executed once. My demand is that this execution, if given, should be exemplary and carried out publicly. Only then will people find peace.”

A total of five charges have been brought against deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina and two other accused in the case concerning crimes against humanity committed during the July mass uprising.

The five charges are:

Delivering inciting statements.

Ordering the elimination of protestors using lethal weapons.

Shooting and killing Abu Saeed, a student of Begum Rokeya University in Rangpur.

Shooting and killing six protestors in the capital’s Chankharpul area.

Burning six people to death in Ashulia.

Former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun was produced before the International Crimes Tribunal-1 on Monday morning.

The three-member tribunal, headed by Justice Golam Martuza Mazumder, is scheduled to announce the verdict today. The bench also includes Justice Md. Shafiul Alam Mahmud and Judge Md. Mohitul Haque Enam Chowdhury.