🔗 Share this article

The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been sentenced to death for atrocities over her crackdown on youth demonstrations which caused her forced departure.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of permitting fatal actions to be used against demonstrators, with approximately 1,400 individuals died during the unrest during 2024.

Legal proceedings were conducted without her presence by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being behind hundreds of killings during the protests. She has refuted every accusation, calling the trial as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The verdict marks a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over extended periods of oppression. Next of kin of victims and injured had demanded severe punishments.

Reacting to the verdict in a five-page statement, the former leader stated the execution sentence was the temporary leadership's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a governing body and that she was satisfied of her leadership's history on human rights.

"I am not afraid to meet my challengers in a just legal forum where the evidence can be weighed and reviewed impartially."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under enhanced protection ahead of the ruling on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina staging a rally and cheering as the judgment was announced.

The city has seen a notable rise in turmoil, with multiple explosives detonated and coaches ignited in the period preceding the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, regional security representative the authorities' representative stated to media outlets.

The youth-driven revolt last year commenced through calls to eliminate government job quotas but evolved into a more extensive dissent initiative.

UN human rights investigators said in a report in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could represent "human rights atrocities".

The paper detailed the firing at close quarters of some protesters, the intentional injuring of additional individuals, arbitrary arrests and mistreatment.

Leaked audio of a telephone conversation involving Hasina confirmed by external reviews during the current year suggested she had sanctioned the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the proceedings.

Before the decision, family members of those killed during the protests stated to news agencies they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

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

A different family member, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "carried out before the election".

"Solely at that point the kin of victims [in the protests] will find peace in their souls."

Since Hasina's ousting, an temporary leadership headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A parliamentary election is scheduled for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the Hasina's political party, her political faction, was banned by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

She alerted last month that if the party's candidates were barred from participating in the upcoming election, countless would abstain the ballot.

This decision presents a foreign relations issue for India and Bangladesh. Dhaka has formally requested her extradition but so far India has demonstrated no inclination to agree.

Her officially designated attorney the defense lawyer said he was "unhappy and desiring the decision had been otherwise".

"I am unable to challenge because my represented individuals are away; which is why I am disheartened," he continued.

Recently, the defense attorneys said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN raising significant due process and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Hasina was tried in conjunction with her previous domestic affairs official and police chief.

While the sentence grants partial finality to kin of victims in the protests, it may not significantly ease the state's ideological splits.

"The resentment towards Hasina and the her political party has not decreased," a Dhaka-based rights activist told press agencies. "Neither she nor the party has expressed regret or shown any remorse for the killings of hundreds of people."

She said "This creates challenges for the faction to gain approval by a most citizens in this nation."

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

"We work with several people who suffered permanent amputations, they are amputees now, as a result of the harsh measures. They will never be able to forgive her."

An analyst, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it increasingly challenging" for Awami League to become a regular participant of Bangladeshi politics again.

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