🔗 Share this article

Bangladesh's former prime minister has been given a death sentence for atrocities due to her crackdown on youth demonstrations which led to her forced departure.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of allowing lethal force to be used against protesters, among whom around 1,400 people were killed during the disturbances in the previous year.

The trial proceeded without her presence by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being behind hundreds of killings during the protests. The former leader rejected the entire case, labeling the proceedings as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

This judgment represents a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over extended periods of oppression. Next of kin of victims and harmed had called for severe punishments.

Answering the judgment in a five-page statement, the former leader stated the execution sentence was the temporary leadership's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was content of her administration's performance on human rights.

"I am not afraid to confront those accusing me in a proper tribunal where the evidence can be weighed and tested fairly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under enhanced protection prior to the decision on Monday, with several of her detractors staging a rally and applauding as the judgment was announced.

The capital witnessed a sudden increase in disturbances, with numerous incendiary devices set off and public transport vehicles burned in the period preceding the verdict.

One explosive incident was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, local police official the authorities' representative told news organizations.

The student-led uprising during 2024 commenced through demands to abolish public sector reservation policies but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.

UN human rights investigators declared in an analysis in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could constitute "violations of human dignity".

The study recorded the firing at close quarters of some protesters, the intentional injuring of additional individuals, unwarranted detentions and abuse.

Disclosed sound files of a telephone conversation involving Hasina verified by media examinations during the current year indicated she had approved the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the legal process.

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

One relative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for Hasina and others who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and misused their authority".

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

"Solely at that point the kin of victims [in the protests] will find peace in their souls."

Since Hasina's ousting, an temporary leadership headed by economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A parliamentary election is planned for February 2026.

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

She alerted last month that if the her faction's nominees were barred from participating in the upcoming election, countless would abstain the vote.

This decision presents a international dilemma for the neighboring countries. The Bangladesh government has asked her extradition but so far India has shown no willingness to agree.

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

"I even cannot appeal because my defendants are not present; for that reason I am sad," he continued.

Recently, her legal team said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN raising major judicial fairness and due process issues at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina 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 do little to soothe the nation's partisan rifts.

"The fury directed at Sheikh Hasina and the her political party has not diminished," a human rights advocate from the capital told press agencies. "Both she and the organization has said sorry or displayed repentance for the killings of hundreds of people."

The activist stated "This complicates matters for the organization to receive endorsement by a majority of people in this state."

The activist added that the punishment was not resolution for the relatives of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We assist numerous persons who lost their limbs forever, they are currently without limbs, due to the crackdown. They are incapable of excusing her."

David Bergman, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it particularly hard" for her party to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.

This might transform if "a form of contrition emerges and a disassociation with the former leader and the former hierarchy," he stated.