🔗 Share this article

The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been handed capital punishment for human rights violations over her crackdown on protests led by students which caused her forced departure.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of allowing lethal force to be used against protesters, 1,400 of whom lost their lives during the disturbances last year.

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

Prosecutors accused her of being the mastermind of multiple fatalities during the protests. She has refuted every accusation, calling the trial as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The decision signifies a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over extended periods of oppression. Relatives of the deceased and wounded had called for tough penalties.

Reacting to the verdict in a detailed document, Hasina said the execution sentence was the interim government's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a electoral entity and that she was content of her administration's performance on individual freedoms.

"I have no trepidation to confront those accusing me in a fair court where the evidence can be weighed and examined justly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under increased safeguards prior to the ruling on Monday, with several of her detractors staging a rally and cheering as the judgment was announced.

The city has seen a notable rise in unrest, with dozens of bombs exploded and coaches ignited in the period preceding the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, area law enforcement officer Jisanul Haque told press agencies.

The protest movement led by students last year started with demands to abolish government job quotas but morphed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

United Nations rights examiners declared in an analysis in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could amount to "human rights atrocities".

The report documented the shooting at point-blank range of certain demonstrators, the purposeful disabling of further participants, unwarranted detentions and mistreatment.

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader authenticated by investigative sources during the current year implied she had sanctioned the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the legal process.

Before the decision, relatives of those killed during the protests informed media representatives they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

A family representative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for the former leader and associates who have "performed revengeful deeds and abused their power".

Lucky Akther, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "implemented before the election".

"Solely at that point the families of those killed [in the protests] will achieve closure in their souls."

Following her removal, an caretaker administration headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A national vote is set for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the Awami League, her political faction, was outlawed by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

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

The verdict now poses a foreign relations issue for India and Bangladesh. Authorities have sought her repatriation but to date India has demonstrated no inclination to agree.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer the defense lawyer said he was "disappointed and hoping the decision had been otherwise".

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

Last week, Hasina's lawyers said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN raising major judicial fairness and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina together with her former home minister and security forces head.

While the sentence offers some closure to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may do little to soothe the country's political divisions.

"The resentment towards Hasina and the her political party has not decreased," a human rights advocate from the capital informed news organizations. "Neither she nor the party has said sorry or displayed repentance for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The activist stated "This creates challenges for the organization to receive endorsement by a majority of people in this state."

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

"We assist numerous persons who suffered permanent amputations, they are currently without limbs, because of the suppression. They will never be able to forgive her."

A journalist, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it even more difficult" for Awami League to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.

This might transform if "there is some kind of apology and a separation from Sheikh Hasina and the old leadership," he stated.