🔗 Share this article

Bangladesh's former prime minister has been given a death sentence for crimes against humanity stemming from her crackdown on protests led by students which caused her removal from power.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of authorizing deadly measures to be used against activists, with approximately 1,400 individuals lost their lives during the disturbances during 2024.

Hasina was tried without her presence by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being responsible for numerous deaths during the protests. She has refuted every accusation, calling the trial as "biased and politically motivated".

This judgment represents a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over long-standing suppression. Families of those killed and wounded had called for severe punishments.

Reacting to the verdict in a five-page statement, Hasina said the capital punishment was the temporary leadership's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a governing body and that she was content of her administration's performance on individual freedoms.

"I do not fear to face my accusers in a just legal forum where the facts can be assessed and examined justly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under enhanced protection prior to the ruling on Monday, with several of her detractors staging a rally and applauding as the verdict was read.

Dhaka experienced a sudden increase in turmoil, with dozens of bombs exploded and coaches ignited 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 stated to news organizations.

The student-led uprising last year commenced through requests to remove state employment quotas but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.

UN human rights investigators declared in an analysis in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could amount to "human rights atrocities".

The paper detailed the gunfire from minimal distance of some protesters, the deliberate maiming of additional individuals, unjustified apprehensions and abuse.

Disclosed sound files of one of Hasina's phone calls confirmed by external reviews earlier this year implied she had approved the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the proceedings.

Ahead of the verdict, relatives of those fatally injured in the unrest told news agencies they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

One relative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for her and co-accused who have "performed revengeful deeds and abused their power".

A different family member, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "executed before the election".

"Solely at that point the kin of victims [in the protests] will obtain solace in their hearts."

After her departure, an interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A general election is scheduled for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the Hasina's political party, Hasina's political party, was outlawed by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

Hasina warned last month that if the the League's representatives were banned from standing in the imminent electoral process, countless would abstain the election.

This decision presents a foreign relations issue for the neighboring countries. Authorities have sought her return but to date India has shown no willingness to acquiesce.

The legal representative assigned to her Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "sad [and wishes] the verdict had been different".

"I cannot even contest because my clients are absent; which is why I am sad," he stated further.

The previous week, her legal team said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN raising serious fair trial and due process issues at the ICT.

Hasina was tried in conjunction with her former home minister and police chief.

While the sentence grants partial finality to families of killed in the protests, it may not significantly ease the country's political divisions.

"The resentment towards Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League has not decreased," a human rights advocate from the capital told media outlets. "The leader and her faction has expressed regret or displayed repentance for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The advocate declared "This creates challenges for the organization to receive endorsement by a most citizens in this nation."

The advocate continued that the punishment was not closure for the relatives of those who died and were wounded.

"We support several people who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are amputees now, due to the crackdown. They cannot pardon her."

An analyst, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it even more difficult" for the political faction to become a standard element of Bangladeshi politics again.

This may change if "an expression of regret occurs and a disassociation with Hasina and the previous administration," he said.