🔗 Share this article

Bangladesh's former prime minister has been given a death sentence for crimes against humanity over her severe measures on protests led by students which led to her removal from power.

Hasina was declared culpable of authorizing deadly measures to be used against demonstrators, with approximately 1,400 individuals died during the turmoil last year.

Legal proceedings were conducted while she was absent by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being the mastermind of multiple fatalities during the protests. The former leader rejected all charges, labeling the proceedings as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The decision signifies a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over long-standing suppression. Families of those killed and harmed had called for tough penalties.

Answering the judgment in a five-page statement, Hasina said the capital punishment was the interim government's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a electoral entity and that she was satisfied of her government's record on individual freedoms.

"I have no trepidation to face my accusers in a just legal forum where the facts can be assessed and tested fairly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under enhanced protection prior to the ruling on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics staging a rally and applauding as the sentence was declared.

The capital witnessed a notable rise in turmoil, with dozens of bombs exploded and buses set on fire in the time before the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, area law enforcement officer Jisanul Haque told press agencies.

The protest movement led by students during 2024 began with requests to remove public sector reservation policies but evolved into a wider anti-government movement.

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

The study recorded the firing at close quarters of a number of activists, the intentional injuring of further participants, arbitrary arrests and abuse.

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader confirmed by external reviews earlier this year implied she had approved the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the proceedings.

Before the decision, family members of those fatally injured in the unrest stated to media representatives they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

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

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

"Exclusively thereafter the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will obtain solace in their hearts."

Since Hasina's ousting, an temporary leadership led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A general election is planned for February 2026.

However, the Hasina's political party, her political faction, was banned by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

Hasina warned during the past month that if the party's candidates were barred from participating in the imminent electoral process, countless would abstain the election.

The judgment creates a international dilemma for India and Bangladesh. The Bangladesh government has asked her return but to date India has demonstrated no inclination to acquiesce.

The legal representative assigned to her her legal counsel said he was "sad [and wishes] the decision had been otherwise".

"I am unable to challenge because my clients are absent; which is why I am sad," he stated further.

Last week, the defense attorneys said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN pointing out significant due process and due process issues at the ICT.

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

Even though the verdict provides certain resolution to families of killed in the protests, it may not significantly ease the state's ideological splits.

"The resentment towards Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League has not subsided," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka informed press agencies. "Neither she nor the party has apologised or demonstrated contrition for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The advocate declared "This creates challenges for the organization to receive endorsement by a bulk of the population in this state."

The activist added that the penalty was not finality for the families of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We work with multiple individuals who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are amputees now, as a result of the harsh measures. They will never be able to forgive her."

David Bergman, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it even more difficult" for the political faction to become a regular participant of the nation's political landscape again.

This may change if "there is some kind of apology and a separation from the former leader and the former hierarchy," he expressed.