🔗 Share this article

Bangladesh's former prime minister has been sentenced to death for atrocities due to her harsh response on youth demonstrations which led to her forced departure.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of allowing lethal force to be used against activists, among whom around 1,400 people died during the unrest 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 numerous deaths during the protests. The former leader rejected all charges, calling the trial as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The decision signifies a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over long-standing suppression. Families of those killed and injured had demanded severe punishments.

Reacting to the verdict in a detailed document, the former leader stated the execution sentence was the caretaker administration's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a political force and that she was satisfied of her administration's performance on civil liberties.

"I have no trepidation to confront those accusing me in a fair court where the proof can be evaluated and reviewed impartially."

The capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under tightened security ahead of the ruling on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina organizing a demonstration and celebrating as the verdict was read.

The capital witnessed a recent spike in disturbances, with dozens of bombs exploded and coaches ignited in the days leading up to the verdict.

One explosive incident was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, area law enforcement officer the authorities' representative told media outlets.

The youth-driven revolt in the previous year began with calls to eliminate public sector reservation policies but morphed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

UN human rights investigators said in a report in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could amount to "violations of human dignity".

The study recorded the shooting at point-blank range of certain demonstrators, the deliberate maiming of others, unwarranted detentions and mistreatment.

Disclosed sound files of a telephone conversation involving Hasina authenticated by media examinations earlier this year suggested she had approved the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the trial.

Ahead of the verdict, kin of those killed during the protests stated to 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 exploited their positions".

A different family member, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "executed before the election".

"Solely at that point the families of those killed [in the protests] will obtain solace in their minds."

Since Hasina's ousting, an interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A national vote is set for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the Hasina's political party, the former ruling party, was banned by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

She alerted last month that if the her faction's nominees were banned from standing in the forthcoming vote, millions would boycott the ballot.

This decision presents a foreign relations issue for both nations. The Bangladesh government has asked her extradition but until now India has expressed no readiness to agree.

Her officially designated attorney Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "unhappy and desiring the decision had been otherwise".

"I am unable to challenge because my represented individuals are away; for that reason I am sad," he stated further.

Recently, her legal team said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN raising serious fair trial 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 offers some closure to families of killed in the protests, it may do little to soothe the nation's partisan rifts.

"The fury directed at Hasina and the her political party has not diminished," a human rights advocate from the capital stated to media outlets. "Neither she nor the party has expressed regret or shown any remorse for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The advocate declared "This complicates matters for the party to be accepted by a most citizens in this country."

The campaigner further stated that the punishment was not finality for the families of those who died and were wounded.

"We assist multiple individuals who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are amputees now, due to the crackdown. They cannot pardon her."

An analyst, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it increasingly challenging" for Awami League to become a standard element of the nation's political landscape again.

This might transform if "an expression of regret occurs and a distancing from the former leader and the old leadership," he expressed.