Gaborone — The Botswana national Lesedi Molapisi, who had faced a death sentence in Bangladesh, was acquitted on 28 July 2026 after the country’s Supreme Court ruled that prosecutors had failed to prove charges of drug trafficking.

DITSHWANELO – The Botswana Centre for Human Rights released details of the legal process, outlining the four‑year ordeal that began when Molapisi was arrested in Dhaka on 24 January 2022. Customs officials claimed to have found 3.145 kilograms of heroin concealed in her luggage, though she was never shown the alleged evidence. She was immediately detained and held at Kashimpur Women’s Jail.

A charge sheet was filed seven months later, in August 2022, and formal charges were framed in July 2023 under Bangladesh’s Special Powers Act and Narcotics Control Act. The Sessions Court later dropped the Special Powers Act charges but, in May 2024, sentenced Molapisi to death and fined her Taka 20,000 (about USD 150).

International advocacy intensified in October 2025, when Dr Alice Mogwe, then President of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), visited Bangladesh. She met interim government officials and visited Molapisi in prison, accompanied by Advocate Mohammad Ahsanuzzaman, who began monitoring her case.

The appeal hearing opened on 16 July 2026 before the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. Senior Advocates Md. Ruhul Amin Bhuiyan, Adilur Rahman Khan, and Ahsanuzzaman represented Molapisi. The hearing concluded on 20 July, and on 28 July, Justices Md. Kamrul Hossain Molla and Foisal Hasan Arif delivered the acquittal.

The court’s judgment stated: “The prosecution miserably failed to prove the charge as brought against the condemned‑accused Lesedi Molapisi … The judgment and order of conviction and sentence dated 27.05.2024 is hereby set aside … The condemned prisoner Lesedi Molapisi … is not found guilty … and is acquitted accordingly.”

DITSHWANELO said the ruling underscores the importance of due process and international solidarity in defending human rights. The organisation has published excerpts of the judgment on its Facebook page to clarify the legal steps that led to Molapisi’s release.

Molapisi’s acquittal closes a case that drew widespread attention in Botswana and abroad, highlighting both the vulnerabilities of citizens abroad and the role of sustained advocacy in overturning wrongful convictions.