The deadly crackdown on student-led protests in Bangladesh last year was directly approved by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, according to BBC Eye Investigations, the investigative unit of the British media outlet BBC.

BBC Eye has analyzed audio of a phone conversation in which Hasina can be heard saying, "Wherever they (protesters) are found, they will be shot," the BBC reported on Wednesday (July 9, 2025).

The media outlet says the phone conversation is now being used as key evidence in the case against Sheikh Hasina at the International Criminal Tribunal. She is currently in exile in India and is being tried in absentia. According to UN investigators, about 1,400 people were killed in the violent protests in July-August last year.

Although Hasina and her party have denied all allegations, an Awami League spokesperson said the audio did not prove “any illegitimate attitude” and that it was a “relevant reaction” in their opinion.