🔗 Share this article

The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been given a death sentence for crimes against humanity stemming from her crackdown on student-led protests which caused her forced departure.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of authorizing deadly measures to be used against demonstrators, 1,400 of whom died during the turmoil in the previous year.

The trial proceeded without her presence by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being the mastermind of numerous deaths during the protests. Hasina has denied every accusation, describing the process as "biased and politically motivated".

The verdict marks a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over extended periods of oppression. Next of kin of victims and harmed had requested tough penalties.

Answering the judgment in a detailed document, the former leader stated the death penalty was the caretaker administration's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was proud of her government's record on civil liberties.

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

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under increased safeguards ahead of the ruling on Monday, with several of her detractors organizing a demonstration and celebrating as the verdict was read.

The city has seen a recent spike in unrest, with dozens of bombs exploded and coaches ignited in the days leading up to the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, area law enforcement officer Jisanul Haque stated to news organizations.

The protest movement led by students during 2024 started with calls to eliminate public sector reservation policies but morphed into a broader opposition campaign.

International human rights monitors declared in an analysis in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could constitute "violations of human dignity".

The paper detailed the shooting at point-blank range of a number of activists, the intentional injuring of additional individuals, unjustified apprehensions and torture.

Leaked audio of a telephone conversation involving Hasina authenticated by media examinations in previous months implied she had sanctioned the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the trial.

Before the decision, kin of those who died in the demonstrations told media representatives they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

Ramjan Ali, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for the former leader and associates who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and abused their power".

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

"Solely at that point the families of those killed [in the protests] will obtain solace in their souls."

Since Hasina's ousting, an temporary leadership under the guidance of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A parliamentary election is planned for February 2026.

However, the Hasina's political party, the former ruling party, was prohibited by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

Hasina warned last month that if the her faction's nominees were prohibited from running in the imminent electoral process, countless would abstain the ballot.

The judgment creates a diplomatic challenge for both nations. Dhaka has formally requested her repatriation but until now India has shown no willingness to comply.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer the defense lawyer said he was "sad [and wishes] the decision had been otherwise".

"I cannot even contest because my clients are absent; which is why I am disheartened," he added.

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.

The former leader faced trial in conjunction with her previous domestic affairs official and police chief.

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

"The anger against Hasina and the Awami League has not decreased," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka stated to press agencies. "The leader and her faction has expressed regret or shown any remorse for the killings of hundreds of people."

She said "This creates challenges for the faction to gain approval by a majority of people in this state."

The campaigner further stated that the sentence was not finality for the relatives of those killed and injured.

"We assist multiple individuals who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are now disabled, due to the crackdown. They cannot pardon her."

David Bergman, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a standard element of Bangladeshi politics again.

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