🔗 Share this article

Bangladesh's former prime minister has been sentenced to death for crimes against humanity over her severe measures on student-led protests which led to her forced departure.

Hasina was declared culpable of permitting fatal actions to be used against protesters, 1,400 of whom were killed during the turmoil last year.

The trial proceeded in absentia by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being the mastermind of hundreds of killings during the protests. Hasina has denied all charges, labeling the proceedings as "biased and politically motivated".

The decision signifies a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over long-standing suppression. Next of kin of victims and injured had requested severe punishments.

Reacting to the verdict in a comprehensive declaration, Hasina said the capital punishment was the caretaker administration's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was proud of her leadership's history on individual freedoms.

"I am not afraid to meet my challengers in a fair court where the evidence can be weighed and examined justly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under increased safeguards before the decision on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics organizing a demonstration and cheering as the sentence was declared.

Dhaka experienced a recent spike in unrest, with dozens of bombs exploded and buses set on fire in the days leading up to the verdict.

One explosive incident was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, area law enforcement officer the authorities' representative informed press agencies.

The youth-driven revolt during 2024 commenced through calls to eliminate state employment quotas but morphed into a broader opposition campaign.

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

The study recorded the shooting at point-blank range of a number of activists, the deliberate maiming of additional individuals, unwarranted detentions and mistreatment.

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader confirmed by external reviews during the current year suggested she had sanctioned the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the trial.

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

One relative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for the former leader and associates who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and abused their power".

A different family member, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "implemented before the election".

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

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

Nevertheless, the Awami League, Hasina's political party, was prohibited by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

Hasina warned last month that if the party's candidates were banned from standing in the upcoming election, millions would boycott the ballot.

The verdict now poses a foreign relations issue for India and Bangladesh. Dhaka has formally requested her return but so far India has demonstrated no inclination to comply.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer her legal counsel said he was "disappointed and hoping the verdict had been different".

"I am unable to challenge because my clients are absent; for that reason I am disheartened," he continued.

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

Hasina was tried alongside her previous domestic affairs official and top law enforcement officer.

While the sentence provides certain resolution 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 civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka told news organizations. "Neither she nor the party has expressed regret or demonstrated contrition for the killings of hundreds of people."

She said "This creates challenges for the faction to gain approval by a bulk of the population in this nation."

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

"We work with several people who lost their limbs forever, they are amputees now, as a result of the harsh measures. They cannot pardon her."

An analyst, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it even more difficult" for her party to become a standard element of the nation's political landscape again.

This might transform if "there is some kind of apology and a disassociation with the former leader and the former hierarchy," he expressed.