🔗 Share this article

The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been sentenced to death for crimes against humanity over her harsh response on protests led by students which caused her ousting.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of authorizing deadly measures to be used against demonstrators, among whom around 1,400 people were killed during the disturbances in the previous year.

Hasina was tried without her presence by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being responsible for numerous deaths during the protests. She has refuted every accusation, labeling the proceedings as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The decision signifies a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over long-standing suppression. Relatives of the deceased and harmed had called for severe punishments.

Reacting to the verdict in a comprehensive declaration, she expressed the death penalty was the temporary leadership's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a political force and that she was satisfied of her government's record on human rights.

"I do not fear to face my accusers in a fair court where the facts can be assessed and reviewed impartially."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under tightened security ahead of the ruling on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina staging a rally and cheering as the judgment was announced.

The capital witnessed a sudden increase in turmoil, with dozens of bombs exploded and public transport vehicles burned in the period preceding the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, local police official Jisanul Haque informed media outlets.

The youth-driven revolt last year started with requests to remove public sector reservation policies but transformed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

United Nations rights examiners stated in a document in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could constitute "crimes against humanity".

The study recorded the shooting at point-blank range of some protesters, the deliberate maiming of others, arbitrary arrests and mistreatment.

Disclosed sound files of a telephone conversation involving Hasina verified by media examinations in previous months implied she had approved the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the trial.

Before the decision, relatives of those fatally injured in the unrest informed news agencies they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

One relative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for Hasina and others who have "committed acts of vengeance and abused their power".

Another relative, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "executed before the election".

"Solely at that point the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will achieve closure in their hearts."

Since Hasina's ousting, an caretaker administration led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A general election is set for February 2026.

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

Hasina warned in the previous month that if the her faction's nominees were barred from participating in the upcoming election, numerous would avoid the vote.

This decision presents a diplomatic challenge for the neighboring countries. Dhaka has formally requested her return but to date India has expressed no readiness to acquiesce.

Her officially designated attorney Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "disappointed and hoping the verdict had been different".

"I am unable to challenge because my clients are absent; which is why I am disappointed," he stated further.

Recently, her legal team said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN pointing out serious fair trial and judicial process problems at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial alongside her former home minister and security forces head.

Even though the verdict offers some closure to families of killed in the protests, it may do little to soothe the state's ideological splits.

"The resentment towards Hasina and the her political party has not decreased," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka stated to media outlets. "Neither she nor the party has said sorry or shown any remorse for the fatalities of countless citizens."

She said "It makes it difficult for the faction to gain approval by a bulk of the population in this state."

The advocate continued that the sentence was not resolution for the kin of those killed and injured.

"We support multiple individuals who suffered permanent amputations, they are currently without limbs, due to the crackdown. They will never be able to forgive her."

An analyst, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it particularly hard" for her party to become a standard element of the country's governance system again.

This may change if "a form of contrition emerges and a distancing from Hasina and the former hierarchy," he said.