🔗 Share this article

Bangladesh's former prime minister has been given a death sentence for crimes against humanity stemming from her harsh response on student-led protests which resulted in her forced departure.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of authorizing deadly measures to be used against protesters, among whom around 1,400 people lost their lives during the unrest in the previous year.

The trial proceeded in absentia by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being behind multiple fatalities during the protests. She has refuted the entire case, calling the trial as "biased and politically motivated".

This judgment represents a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over years of repression. Families of those killed and injured had called for severe punishments.

Answering the judgment in a detailed document, she expressed the capital punishment was the interim government's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a political force and that she was content of her leadership's history on civil liberties.

"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 tightened security ahead of the ruling on Monday, with several of her detractors staging a rally and celebrating as the verdict was read.

Dhaka experienced a notable rise in turmoil, with multiple explosives detonated and public transport vehicles burned in the time before the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, area law enforcement officer the police spokesperson told media outlets.

The student-led uprising last year started with requests to remove public sector reservation policies but transformed into a broader opposition campaign.

International human rights monitors stated in a document in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could represent "human rights atrocities".

The report documented the shooting at point-blank range of a number of activists, the deliberate maiming of additional individuals, unwarranted detentions and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader confirmed by media examinations during the current year indicated she had approved the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the proceedings.

Prior to the ruling, family members of those fatally injured in the unrest stated to media representatives they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

Ramjan Ali, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for the former leader and associates who have "committed acts of vengeance and exploited their positions".

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

"Exclusively thereafter the kin of victims [in the protests] will achieve closure in their hearts."

Since Hasina's ousting, an temporary leadership headed by economist Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A national vote is scheduled for February 2026.

However, the her former political organization, her political faction, was prohibited by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

Hasina warned in the previous month that if the party's candidates were barred from participating in the upcoming election, numerous would avoid the election.

The judgment creates a foreign relations issue for the neighboring countries. The Bangladesh government has asked her repatriation but so far India has expressed no readiness to agree.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "sad [and wishes] the outcome had varied".

"I even cannot appeal because my defendants are not present; which is why I am disappointed," he continued.

The previous week, the defense attorneys said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN highlighting major judicial fairness and due process issues at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial alongside her previous domestic affairs official and security forces head.

Although the punishment grants partial finality to families of killed in the protests, it may do little to soothe the nation's partisan rifts.

"The resentment towards Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not diminished," a Dhaka-based rights activist stated to press agencies. "Both she and the organization has said sorry or displayed repentance for the killings of hundreds of people."

She said "It makes it difficult for the party to be accepted by a majority of people in this country."

The activist added that the punishment was not finality for the kin of those killed and injured.

"We work with multiple individuals who suffered permanent amputations, they are now disabled, because of the suppression. They will never be able to forgive her."

A journalist, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it increasingly challenging" for Awami League to become a regular participant of the nation's political landscape again.

This could alter if "there is some kind of apology and a disassociation with Sheikh Hasina and the old leadership," he expressed.