🔗 Share this article

The country's previous leader has been given a death sentence for crimes against humanity over her harsh response on protests led by students which caused her ousting.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of authorizing deadly measures 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 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 behind multiple fatalities during the protests. The former leader rejected every accusation, describing the process as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

This judgment represents a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over extended periods of oppression. Relatives of the deceased and wounded had requested strict sentences.

Reacting to the verdict in a detailed document, Hasina said the death penalty was the interim government's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a electoral entity and that she was content of her government's record on human rights.

"I am not afraid to confront those accusing me in a proper tribunal where the proof can be evaluated and examined justly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under tightened security ahead of the decision on Monday, with several of her detractors staging a rally and celebrating as the verdict was read.

The city has seen a sudden increase in turmoil, with numerous incendiary devices set off and public transport vehicles burned in the period preceding the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, local police official the police spokesperson told news organizations.

The student-led uprising during 2024 started with calls to eliminate public sector reservation policies but morphed into a broader opposition campaign.

United Nations rights examiners stated in a document in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could amount to "violations of human dignity".

The report documented the shooting at point-blank range of a number of activists, the purposeful disabling of additional individuals, arbitrary arrests and abuse.

Unauthorized recordings of a telephone conversation involving Hasina confirmed by media examinations earlier this year suggested she had sanctioned the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the trial.

Ahead of the verdict, kin of those killed during the protests told media representatives they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

A family representative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for the former leader and associates who have "performed revengeful deeds and exploited their positions".

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

"Only then the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will achieve closure in their hearts."

Since Hasina's ousting, an caretaker administration led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A national vote is set for February 2026.

However, the Awami League, the former ruling party, was outlawed by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

Hasina warned in the previous month that if the her faction's nominees were prohibited from running in the forthcoming vote, numerous would avoid the vote.

This decision presents a diplomatic challenge for both nations. Authorities have sought her repatriation but until now India has expressed no readiness to comply.

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

"I am unable to challenge because my clients are absent; which is why I am disappointed," he continued.

The previous week, Hasina's lawyers said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN raising significant due process and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial in conjunction with her former home minister and top law enforcement officer.

Although the punishment provides certain resolution to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the nation's partisan rifts.

"The anger against Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League has not diminished," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka told news organizations. "Both she and the organization has expressed regret or shown any remorse for the deaths of numerous individuals."

She said "This complicates matters for the organization to receive endorsement by a bulk of the population in this nation."

The activist added that the punishment was not closure for the kin of those killed and injured.

"We work with numerous persons who lost their limbs forever, they are currently without limbs, as a result of the harsh measures. They are incapable of excusing her."

An analyst, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it increasingly challenging" for the political faction to become a regular participant of Bangladeshi politics again.

This could alter if "an expression of regret occurs and a distancing from the former leader and the old leadership," he said.