🔗 Share this article

Bangladesh's former prime minister has been given a death sentence for atrocities due to her harsh response on youth demonstrations which caused her forced departure.

Hasina was declared culpable of permitting fatal actions to be used against protesters, among whom around 1,400 people were killed during the disturbances in the previous year.

The trial proceeded while she was absent by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being behind multiple fatalities during the protests. She has refuted the entire case, describing the process as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The verdict marks a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over extended periods of oppression. Relatives of the deceased and wounded had called for severe punishments.

Reacting to the verdict in a detailed document, Hasina said the capital punishment was the caretaker administration'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 have no trepidation to face my accusers in a proper tribunal where the facts can be assessed and examined justly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under tightened security before the verdict on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina staging a rally and celebrating as the verdict was read.

The capital witnessed a notable rise in turmoil, with numerous incendiary devices set off and buses set on fire in the time before the verdict.

One explosive incident was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, area law enforcement officer the police spokesperson informed press agencies.

The protest movement led by students during 2024 began with requests to remove public sector reservation policies but morphed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

United Nations rights examiners declared in an analysis in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could constitute "violations of human dignity".

The study recorded the shooting at point-blank range of certain demonstrators, the deliberate maiming of further participants, arbitrary arrests and torture.

Leaked audio of a call made by the former leader authenticated by external reviews during the current year suggested she had approved the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the trial.

Ahead of the verdict, relatives of those who died in the demonstrations told media representatives they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

A family representative, 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 exploited their positions".

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

"Solely at that point the kin of victims [in the protests] will achieve closure in their minds."

Following her removal, an caretaker administration headed by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A general election is planned for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the her former political organization, Hasina's political party, was banned by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

She alerted in the previous month that if the party's candidates were barred from participating in the imminent electoral process, millions would boycott the vote.

The verdict now poses a diplomatic challenge for the neighboring countries. The Bangladesh government has asked her repatriation but until now India has demonstrated no inclination to agree.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer the defense lawyer said he was "unhappy and desiring the verdict had been different".

"I am unable to challenge because my defendants are not present; for that reason I am sad," he added.

Recently, Hasina's lawyers said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN raising serious fair trial and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina alongside her previous domestic affairs official and top law enforcement officer.

While the sentence grants partial finality to kin of victims in the protests, it may do little to soothe the nation's partisan rifts.

"The resentment towards Sheikh Hasina and the her political party has not diminished," a human rights advocate from the capital stated to press agencies. "The leader and her faction has said sorry or demonstrated contrition for the killings of hundreds of people."

She said "It makes it difficult for the faction to gain approval by a majority of people in this country."

The advocate continued that the sentence was not closure for the families of those killed and injured.

"We support multiple individuals who suffered permanent amputations, they are currently without limbs, due to the crackdown. They are incapable of excusing her."

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

This may change if "a form of contrition emerges and a separation from the former leader and the former hierarchy," he said.