🔗 Share this article

The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been sentenced to death for crimes against humanity over her severe measures on youth demonstrations which led to her forced departure.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of authorizing deadly measures to be used against demonstrators, 1,400 of whom were killed during the disturbances in the previous year.

Hasina was tried without her presence by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India following her ouster in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being responsible for hundreds of killings during the protests. Hasina has denied every accusation, calling the trial as "unfair and agenda-driven".

This judgment represents a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over years of repression. Next of kin of victims and harmed had called for strict sentences.

Reacting to the verdict in a five-page statement, Hasina said the capital punishment was the caretaker administration's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was content of her government's record on individual freedoms.

"I am not afraid to meet my challengers in a fair court where the evidence can be weighed and tested fairly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under tightened security before the decision on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina organizing a demonstration and cheering as the verdict was read.

The capital witnessed a recent spike in turmoil, with multiple explosives detonated and coaches ignited in the period preceding the verdict.

One explosive incident was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, regional security representative the authorities' representative told press agencies.

The protest movement led by students last year began with calls to eliminate government job quotas but morphed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

International human rights monitors declared in an analysis in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could represent "human rights atrocities".

The study recorded the firing at close quarters of a number of activists, the deliberate maiming of additional individuals, arbitrary arrests and mistreatment.

Leaked audio of one of Hasina's phone calls authenticated by external reviews in previous months implied she had sanctioned the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the proceedings.

Ahead of the verdict, relatives of those fatally injured in the unrest informed press outlets they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

Ramjan Ali, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for Hasina and others who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and abused their power".

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

"Solely at that point the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will find peace in their minds."

Following her removal, an interim government led by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A parliamentary election is scheduled for February 2026.

However, the Awami League, the former ruling party, was banned by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

The former leader cautioned last month that if the party's candidates were barred from participating in the forthcoming vote, numerous would avoid the ballot.

The judgment creates a foreign relations issue for the neighboring countries. Authorities have sought her repatriation but until now India has shown no willingness to acquiesce.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "disappointed and hoping the verdict had been different".

"I even cannot appeal because my represented individuals are away; for that reason I am sad," he continued.

The previous week, her legal team said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN raising major judicial fairness and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial alongside her former home minister and top law enforcement officer.

Even though the verdict offers some closure to families of killed in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the country's political divisions.

"The fury directed at Sheikh Hasina and the her political party has not diminished," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka told news organizations. "The leader and her faction has said sorry or displayed repentance for the killings of hundreds of people."

The activist stated "This complicates matters for the party to be accepted by a most citizens in this nation."

The campaigner further stated that the punishment was not resolution for the families of those who died and were wounded.

"We assist numerous persons who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are amputees now, 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 particularly hard" for the political faction to become a normal feature of the country's governance system again.

This might transform if "an expression of regret occurs and a distancing from the former leader and the former hierarchy," he said.