🔗 Share this article

The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been sentenced to death for crimes against humanity over her crackdown on protests led by students which caused her removal from power.

Hasina was declared culpable of allowing lethal force to be used against demonstrators, with approximately 1,400 individuals lost their lives during the disturbances in the previous year.

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

Legal authorities charged her of being responsible for numerous deaths during the protests. She has refuted the entire case, describing the process as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The verdict marks a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over years of repression. Next of kin of victims and harmed had demanded strict sentences.

Responding to the decision in a five-page statement, Hasina said the capital punishment was the temporary leadership's way of "eliminating her political faction" 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 proof can be evaluated and reviewed impartially."

The capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under tightened security ahead of the decision on Monday, with several of her detractors holding a protest and cheering as the verdict was read.

The city has seen a notable rise in turmoil, with multiple explosives detonated and public transport vehicles burned in the time before the verdict.

One explosive incident was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, local police official the police spokesperson stated to press agencies.

The youth-driven revolt during 2024 began with requests to remove public sector reservation policies but transformed into a wider anti-government movement.

International human rights monitors stated in a document in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could constitute "violations of human dignity".

The paper detailed the firing at close quarters of some protesters, the deliberate maiming of additional individuals, arbitrary arrests and abuse.

Unauthorized recordings of one of Hasina's phone calls confirmed by external reviews in previous months implied she had authorized the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the trial.

Prior to the ruling, family members of those killed during the protests told press outlets they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

Ramjan Ali, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for her and co-accused who have "committed acts of vengeance and exploited their positions".

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

"Only then the kin of victims [in the protests] will obtain solace in their minds."

Following her removal, an interim government headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A parliamentary election is planned for February 2026.

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

She alerted last month that if the the League's representatives were prohibited from running in the upcoming election, numerous would avoid the ballot.

The judgment creates a international dilemma for India and Bangladesh. The Bangladesh government has asked her extradition but to date India has shown no willingness to agree.

The legal representative assigned to her her legal counsel said he was "sad [and wishes] the verdict had been different".

"I cannot even contest because my defendants are not present; for that reason I am sad," he added.

Recently, the defense attorneys said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN highlighting significant due process and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial together with her previous domestic affairs official and security forces head.

While the sentence provides certain resolution 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 civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka informed press agencies. "Both she and the organization has said sorry or displayed repentance for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The activist stated "It makes it difficult for the faction to gain approval by a bulk of the population in this nation."

The advocate continued that the penalty was not closure for the relatives of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We assist several people who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are currently without limbs, because of the suppression. 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 particularly hard" for the political faction to become a regular participant of the nation's political landscape again.

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