🔗 Share this article

Bangladesh's former prime minister has been sentenced to death for atrocities over her crackdown on youth demonstrations which led to her ousting.

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

The trial proceeded without her presence by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being responsible for hundreds of killings during the protests. She has refuted all charges, labeling the proceedings as "biased and politically motivated".

This judgment represents a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over long-standing suppression. Relatives of the deceased and wounded had called for severe punishments.

Reacting to the verdict in a detailed document, she expressed the capital punishment was the temporary leadership's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was proud of her administration's performance on individual freedoms.

"I am not afraid to confront those accusing me in a proper tribunal where the evidence can be weighed and reviewed impartially."

The capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under enhanced protection ahead of the decision on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina holding a protest and celebrating as the sentence was declared.

The capital witnessed a notable rise in unrest, with dozens of bombs exploded and coaches ignited in the time before the verdict.

One explosive incident was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, local police official Jisanul Haque stated to media outlets.

The protest movement led by students last year commenced through calls to eliminate state employment quotas but evolved into a broader opposition campaign.

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

The study recorded the gunfire from minimal distance of some protesters, the deliberate maiming of additional individuals, unwarranted detentions and torture.

Disclosed sound files of one of Hasina's phone calls authenticated by media examinations during the current year indicated she had approved the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the legal process.

Prior to the ruling, kin of those fatally injured in the unrest informed press outlets they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

One relative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for the former leader and associates who have "committed acts of vengeance and abused their power".

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

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

Since Hasina's ousting, an caretaker administration led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A general election is planned for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the Awami League, Hasina's political party, was prohibited by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

The former leader cautioned during the past month that if the her faction's nominees were banned from standing in the upcoming election, millions would boycott the ballot.

This decision presents a international dilemma for India and Bangladesh. Dhaka has formally requested her repatriation but to date India has shown no willingness to comply.

Her officially designated attorney 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 sad," he stated further.

Last week, the defense attorneys said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN raising significant due process and due process issues at the ICT.

Hasina was tried in conjunction with her former home minister and top law enforcement officer.

Even though the verdict provides certain resolution to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may do little to soothe the nation's partisan rifts.

"The fury directed at the former leader and the the former ruling faction has not diminished," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka stated to media outlets. "Neither she nor the party has apologised or displayed repentance for the killings of hundreds of people."

The activist stated "This creates challenges for the organization to receive endorsement by a bulk of the population in this country."

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

"We work with multiple individuals who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are amputees now, because of the suppression. They cannot pardon her."

A journalist, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a regular participant of the country's governance system again.

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