🔗 Share this article

Bangladesh's former prime minister has been sentenced to death for atrocities over her crackdown on student-led protests which resulted in her removal from power.

Hasina was declared culpable of permitting fatal actions to be used against activists, among whom around 1,400 people lost their lives during the unrest in the previous year.

Hasina was tried without her presence by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being the mastermind of numerous deaths during the protests. Hasina has denied every accusation, describing the process as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

This judgment represents a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over long-standing suppression. Families of those killed and wounded had requested tough penalties.

Reacting to the verdict in a five-page statement, she expressed the capital punishment was the caretaker administration's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a electoral entity and that she was content of her government's record on individual freedoms.

"I do not fear to face my accusers in a fair court where the proof can be evaluated and reviewed impartially."

The capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under increased safeguards prior to the decision on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina holding a protest and cheering as the sentence was declared.

The city has seen a notable rise in unrest, with numerous incendiary devices set off and buses set on fire in the period preceding the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, local police official the authorities' representative informed media outlets.

The youth-driven revolt in the previous year commenced through demands to abolish government job quotas but evolved into a broader opposition campaign.

International human rights monitors said in a report in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could amount to "violations of human dignity".

The paper detailed the gunfire from minimal distance of a number of activists, the intentional injuring of others, unwarranted detentions and mistreatment.

Disclosed sound files of one of Hasina's phone calls authenticated by investigative sources in previous months indicated she had approved the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the trial.

Before the decision, kin of those fatally injured in the unrest told media representatives they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

A family representative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for Hasina and others who have "engaged in retaliatory actions 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 "implemented before the election".

"Only then the kin of victims [in the protests] will find peace in their souls."

Following her removal, an temporary leadership led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A parliamentary election is planned for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the Awami League, the former ruling party, was prohibited by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

She alerted during the past month that if the her faction's nominees were prohibited from running in the imminent electoral process, countless would abstain the vote.

This decision presents a foreign relations issue for both nations. Authorities have sought her extradition but so far India has shown no willingness to acquiesce.

Her officially designated attorney the defense lawyer said he was "disappointed and hoping the outcome had varied".

"I cannot even contest because my represented individuals are away; that's why I am disappointed," he added.

Last week, Hasina's lawyers said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN highlighting serious fair trial and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina in conjunction with her former home minister and security forces head.

Even though the verdict offers some closure to kin of victims in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the country's political divisions.

"The anger against Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not diminished," a Dhaka-based rights activist informed news organizations. "The leader and her faction has said sorry or demonstrated contrition for the killings of hundreds of people."

The advocate declared "It makes it difficult for the faction to gain approval by a majority of people in this nation."

The activist added that the sentence was not finality for the families of those who died and were wounded.

"We work with multiple individuals who lost their limbs forever, they are now disabled, because of the suppression. They cannot pardon her."

A journalist, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a standard element of the nation's political landscape again.

This might transform if "a form of contrition emerges and a separation from Sheikh Hasina and the former hierarchy," he expressed.