🔗 Share this article

The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been given a death sentence for crimes against humanity due to her harsh response on youth demonstrations which led to her removal from power.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of authorizing deadly measures to be used against demonstrators, 1,400 of whom were killed during the disturbances in the previous year.

Legal proceedings were conducted without her presence by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being responsible for multiple fatalities during the protests. She has refuted the entire case, labeling the proceedings as "biased and politically motivated".

The verdict marks a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over long-standing suppression. Relatives of the deceased and injured had demanded strict sentences.

Answering the judgment 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 electoral entity and that she was content of her government's record on civil liberties.

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

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under increased safeguards prior to the verdict on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina holding a protest and celebrating as the verdict was read.

The capital witnessed a recent spike in unrest, with numerous incendiary devices set off and public transport vehicles burned in the time before the verdict.

One explosive incident was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, local police official the police spokesperson stated to press agencies.

The youth-driven revolt last year commenced through requests to remove public sector reservation policies but transformed into a wider anti-government movement.

United Nations rights examiners stated in a document in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could constitute "crimes against humanity".

The study recorded the shooting at point-blank range of certain demonstrators, the purposeful disabling of further participants, unjustified apprehensions and abuse.

Disclosed sound files of one of Hasina's phone calls verified by external reviews during the current year implied she had approved the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the legal process.

Prior to the ruling, family members of those killed during the protests informed press outlets 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 "committed acts of vengeance and misused their authority".

Lucky Akther, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "implemented before the election".

"Only then the families of those killed [in the protests] will achieve closure in their souls."

Since Hasina's ousting, an interim government headed by economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A parliamentary election is planned for February 2026.

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

Hasina warned during the past month that if the party's candidates were prohibited from running in the forthcoming vote, countless would abstain the vote.

The judgment creates a international dilemma for India and Bangladesh. Dhaka has formally requested her repatriation but until now India has shown no willingness to comply.

The legal representative assigned to her Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "disappointed and hoping the verdict had been different".

"I even cannot appeal because my clients are absent; that's why I am disappointed," he added.

The previous week, her legal team said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN pointing out major judicial fairness and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina together with her former home minister and police chief.

Even though the verdict provides certain resolution to kin of victims in the protests, it may not significantly ease the state's ideological splits.

"The anger against Sheikh Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not diminished," a Dhaka-based rights activist informed media outlets. "The leader and her faction has apologised or demonstrated contrition for the deaths of numerous individuals."

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

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

"We work with several people who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are now disabled, as a result of the harsh measures. They cannot pardon her."

An analyst, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it increasingly challenging" for Awami League to become a standard element of the country's governance system again.

This could alter if "there is some kind of apology and a disassociation with Hasina and the previous administration," he expressed.