🔗 Share this article

Bangladesh's former prime minister has been given a death sentence for crimes against humanity due to her harsh response on student-led protests which led to her removal from power.

Hasina was declared culpable of allowing lethal force to be used against demonstrators, among whom around 1,400 people were killed during the turmoil last year.

Hasina was tried in absentia by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being the mastermind of multiple fatalities during the protests. Hasina has denied all charges, calling the trial as "biased and politically motivated".

This judgment represents a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over long-standing suppression. Relatives of the deceased and harmed had demanded tough penalties.

Answering the judgment in a comprehensive declaration, the former leader stated the capital punishment was the temporary leadership's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was content of her administration's performance on individual freedoms.

"I have no trepidation to face my accusers in a fair court where the facts can be assessed and reviewed impartially."

The capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under increased safeguards ahead of the decision on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics staging a rally and cheering 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 days leading up to the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, local police official the police spokesperson stated to media outlets.

The student-led uprising in the previous year commenced through calls to eliminate public sector reservation policies but morphed into a broader opposition campaign.

UN human rights investigators declared in an analysis in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could represent "crimes against humanity".

The paper detailed the shooting at point-blank range of a number of activists, the purposeful disabling of further participants, unjustified apprehensions and mistreatment.

Disclosed sound files of a call made by the former leader verified by media examinations earlier this year suggested she had authorized the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the legal process.

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

One relative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for Hasina and others who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and misused their authority".

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

"Only then the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will find peace in their souls."

Since Hasina's ousting, an interim government headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A national vote is planned for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the her former political organization, her political faction, was prohibited by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

The former leader cautioned in the previous month that if the the League's representatives were prohibited from running in the upcoming election, countless would abstain the election.

This decision presents a foreign relations issue for both nations. Dhaka has formally requested her return but until now India has shown no willingness to agree.

Her officially designated attorney Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "sad [and wishes] the verdict had been different".

"I am unable to challenge because my defendants are not present; that's why I am disheartened," he stated further.

The previous week, Hasina's lawyers said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN highlighting major judicial fairness and judicial process problems at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial in conjunction with her former home minister and security forces head.

Although the punishment grants partial finality to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the country's political divisions.

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

The activist stated "It makes it difficult for the organization to receive endorsement by a majority of people in this nation."

The advocate continued that the sentence was not resolution for the kin of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We assist numerous persons who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are now disabled, as a result of the harsh measures. They are incapable of excusing her."

An analyst, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it particularly hard" for Awami League to become a regular participant of the country's governance system again.

This could alter if "there is some kind of apology and a separation from Hasina and the old leadership," he said.