🔗 Share this article

Bangladesh's former prime minister has been sentenced to death for crimes against humanity over her crackdown on youth demonstrations which led to her ousting.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of authorizing deadly measures to be used against demonstrators, with approximately 1,400 individuals lost their lives during the turmoil in the previous year.

Legal proceedings were conducted without her presence by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being the mastermind of hundreds of killings during the protests. Hasina has denied every accusation, describing the process as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The verdict marks a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over extended periods of oppression. Families of those killed and wounded had called for severe punishments.

Reacting to the verdict in a detailed document, Hasina said the execution sentence was the caretaker administration's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was content of her leadership's history on civil liberties.

"I do not fear to meet my challengers in a proper tribunal where the facts can be assessed and tested fairly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under increased safeguards ahead of the ruling on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics holding a protest and celebrating as the verdict was read.

The capital witnessed a notable rise in turmoil, with dozens of bombs exploded and buses set on fire in the period preceding the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, area law enforcement officer Jisanul Haque stated to media outlets.

The student-led uprising during 2024 commenced through demands to abolish government job quotas but morphed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

United Nations rights examiners declared in an analysis in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could constitute "human rights atrocities".

The paper detailed the shooting at point-blank range of some protesters, the deliberate maiming of additional individuals, unjustified apprehensions and mistreatment.

Unauthorized recordings of one of Hasina's phone calls confirmed by media examinations in previous months implied she had sanctioned the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the trial.

Before the decision, family members of those who died in the demonstrations informed press outlets they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

One relative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for her and co-accused who have "performed revengeful deeds and misused their authority".

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

"Exclusively thereafter the families of those killed [in the protests] will achieve closure in their minds."

Following her removal, an caretaker administration under the guidance of economic expert Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A national vote is scheduled for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the her former political organization, the former ruling party, was banned by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

She alerted last month that if the party's candidates were barred from participating in the imminent electoral process, numerous would avoid the election.

This decision presents a foreign relations issue for India and Bangladesh. Authorities have sought her repatriation but until now India has expressed no readiness to agree.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "unhappy and desiring the decision had been otherwise".

"I am unable to challenge because my defendants are not present; for that reason I am disappointed," he stated further.

Last week, her legal team said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN highlighting significant due process and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial in conjunction with her previous domestic affairs official and top law enforcement officer.

Even though the verdict offers some closure to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may do little to soothe the nation's partisan rifts.

"The fury directed at Sheikh Hasina and the her political party has not decreased," a human rights advocate from the capital told media outlets. "Neither she nor the party has expressed regret or displayed repentance for the killings of hundreds of people."

The activist stated "It makes it difficult for the faction to gain approval by a majority of people in this state."

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

"We work with multiple individuals who underwent irreversible limb loss, 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 increasingly challenging" for her party to become a normal feature of the country's governance system again.

This could alter if "there is some kind of apology and a distancing from Hasina and the former hierarchy," he expressed.