🔗 Share this article

Bangladesh's former prime minister has been handed capital punishment for crimes against humanity over her harsh response on protests led by students which led to her forced departure.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of authorizing deadly measures to be used against activists, with approximately 1,400 individuals died during the turmoil last year.

The trial proceeded while she was absent by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being the mastermind of multiple fatalities during the protests. She has refuted every accusation, calling the trial as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The verdict marks a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over years of repression. Next of kin of victims and wounded had demanded tough penalties.

Answering the judgment in a detailed document, she expressed the death penalty was the temporary leadership's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was satisfied of her leadership's history on civil liberties.

"I am not afraid to face my accusers in a proper tribunal where the proof can be evaluated and reviewed impartially."

The capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under tightened security ahead of the verdict on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics holding a protest and celebrating as the verdict was read.

Dhaka experienced a notable rise in unrest, with numerous incendiary devices set off and buses set on fire in the time before the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, local police official the authorities' representative stated to news organizations.

The youth-driven revolt in the previous year began with requests to remove public sector reservation policies but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.

UN human rights investigators declared in an analysis in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could represent "violations of human dignity".

The study recorded the firing at close quarters of a number of activists, the purposeful disabling of additional individuals, arbitrary arrests and torture.

Disclosed sound files of a call made by the former leader authenticated by investigative sources earlier this year implied she had sanctioned the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the trial.

Ahead of the verdict, family members of those fatally injured in the unrest stated to news agencies they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

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

A different family member, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "carried out before the election".

"Only then the families of those killed [in the protests] will obtain solace in their hearts."

Following her removal, an caretaker administration under the guidance of economic expert Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A parliamentary election is scheduled for February 2026.

However, the Awami League, the former ruling party, was outlawed by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

She alerted during the past month that if the her faction's nominees were banned from standing in the imminent electoral process, numerous would avoid the ballot.

The judgment creates a international dilemma for both nations. Dhaka has formally requested her repatriation but so far India has shown no willingness to comply.

Her officially designated attorney her legal counsel said he was "sad [and wishes] the verdict had been different".

"I am unable to challenge because my clients are absent; that's why I am sad," he continued.

Last week, Hasina's lawyers said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN pointing out significant due process and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina alongside her previous domestic affairs official and police chief.

Although the punishment provides certain resolution to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may do little to soothe the state's ideological splits.

"The fury directed at Sheikh Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not decreased," a human rights advocate from the capital stated to news organizations. "The leader and her faction has said sorry or demonstrated contrition for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The advocate declared "This creates challenges for the organization to receive endorsement by a majority of people in this nation."

The campaigner further stated that the sentence was not closure for the kin of those who died and were wounded.

"We support numerous persons who lost their limbs forever, they are amputees now, due to the crackdown. They will never be able to forgive her."

An analyst, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it even more difficult" for her party to become a standard element of Bangladeshi politics again.

This could alter if "a form of contrition emerges and a disassociation with the former leader and the former hierarchy," he expressed.