🔗 Share this article

Bangladesh's former prime minister has been given a death sentence for crimes against humanity due to her severe measures on student-led protests which caused her removal from power.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of allowing lethal force to be used against demonstrators, among whom around 1,400 people died during the disturbances during 2024.

Hasina was tried while she was absent by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being behind multiple fatalities during the protests. She has refuted the entire case, describing the process as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The verdict marks a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over years of repression. Relatives of the deceased and injured had called for severe punishments.

Responding to the decision in a five-page statement, the former leader stated the execution sentence was the temporary leadership's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was content of her administration's performance on human rights.

"I have no trepidation to confront those accusing me in a fair court where the evidence can be weighed and reviewed impartially."

The capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under enhanced protection ahead of the verdict on Monday, with several of her detractors staging a rally and celebrating as the sentence was declared.

The city has seen a sudden increase in unrest, with dozens of bombs exploded and coaches ignited in the time before the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, area law enforcement officer the authorities' representative informed press agencies.

The student-led uprising in the previous year started with calls to eliminate state employment quotas but evolved into a more extensive dissent initiative.

United Nations rights examiners stated in a document in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could represent "human rights atrocities".

The report documented the firing at close quarters of certain demonstrators, the deliberate maiming of further participants, unjustified apprehensions and torture.

Disclosed sound files of a call made by the former leader confirmed by media examinations during the current year implied she had approved the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the proceedings.

Ahead of the verdict, kin of those killed during the protests told news agencies they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

One relative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for Hasina and others who have "performed revengeful deeds and abused their power".

Another relative, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "carried out before the election".

"Only then the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will obtain solace in their minds."

After her departure, an interim government headed by economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A parliamentary election is set for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the Awami League, the former ruling party, was outlawed by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

Hasina warned during the past month that if the the League's representatives were prohibited from running in the imminent electoral process, millions would boycott the vote.

The judgment creates a international dilemma for both nations. Authorities have sought her extradition but so far India has expressed no readiness to comply.

The legal representative assigned to her Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "unhappy and desiring the verdict had been different".

"I even cannot appeal because my clients are absent; which is why I am disappointed," he continued.

The previous week, Hasina's lawyers said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN pointing out major judicial fairness and due process issues at the ICT.

Hasina was tried together with her former home minister and top law enforcement officer.

While the sentence offers some closure to families of killed in the protests, it may do little to soothe the nation's partisan rifts.

"The anger against Hasina and the Awami League has not subsided," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka stated to press agencies. "The leader and her faction has expressed regret or displayed repentance for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The activist stated "It makes it difficult for the organization to receive endorsement by a bulk of the population in this nation."

The advocate continued that the punishment was not closure for the kin of those who died and were wounded.

"We assist several people who suffered permanent amputations, they are currently without limbs, because of the suppression. They will never be able to forgive her."

An analyst, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it even more difficult" for Awami League to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.

This might transform if "a form of contrition emerges and a separation from Sheikh Hasina and the old leadership," he expressed.