🔗 Share this article

The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been given a death sentence for atrocities over her crackdown on student-led protests which resulted in her removal from power.

Hasina was declared culpable of allowing lethal force to be used against protesters, with approximately 1,400 individuals died during the turmoil last year.

Hasina was tried while she was absent by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being responsible for hundreds of killings during the protests. The former leader rejected the entire case, labeling the proceedings as "biased and politically motivated".

The verdict marks a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over long-standing suppression. Relatives of the deceased and wounded had called for strict sentences.

Responding to the decision in a comprehensive declaration, she expressed the execution sentence was the interim government's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was content of her leadership's history on human rights.

"I am not afraid to meet my challengers in a just legal forum where the evidence can be weighed and reviewed impartially."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under tightened security ahead of the ruling on Monday, with several of her detractors holding a protest and celebrating as the judgment was announced.

The capital witnessed a notable rise in unrest, with numerous incendiary devices set off and coaches ignited in the days leading up to the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, regional security representative the police spokesperson told media outlets.

The protest movement led by students in the previous year began with demands to abolish public sector reservation policies but evolved into a broader opposition campaign.

UN human rights investigators said in a report in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could represent "human rights atrocities".

The report documented the gunfire from minimal distance of a number of activists, the deliberate maiming of additional individuals, arbitrary arrests and torture.

Leaked audio of a call made by the former leader verified by external reviews in previous months suggested she had authorized the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the trial.

Before the decision, family members of those fatally injured in the unrest told media representatives they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

A family representative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for the former leader and associates who have "committed acts of vengeance and misused their authority".

Lucky Akther, whose husband was killed 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 hearts."

After her departure, an caretaker administration under the guidance of economist Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A parliamentary election is scheduled for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the Awami League, her political faction, was outlawed by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

The former leader cautioned last month that if the the League's representatives were prohibited from running in the imminent electoral process, numerous would avoid the ballot.

The verdict now poses a international dilemma for India and Bangladesh. Dhaka has formally requested her extradition but to date India has demonstrated no inclination to comply.

The legal representative assigned to her the defense lawyer said he was "unhappy and desiring the outcome had varied".

"I cannot even contest because my defendants are not present; for that reason I am disappointed," he added.

The previous week, the defense attorneys said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN highlighting major judicial fairness and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Hasina was tried together with her ex-interior minister and police chief.

Although the punishment provides certain resolution to kin of victims in the protests, it may not significantly ease the nation's partisan rifts.

"The resentment towards the former leader and the Awami League has not diminished," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka told media outlets. "The leader and her faction has said sorry or demonstrated contrition for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The advocate declared "It makes it difficult for the faction to gain approval by a most citizens in this state."

The advocate continued that the punishment was not resolution for the kin of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We work with multiple individuals who suffered permanent amputations, they are amputees now, due to the crackdown. They cannot pardon her."

David Bergman, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it even more difficult" for her party to become a regular participant of Bangladeshi politics again.

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