🔗 Share this article

Bangladesh's former prime minister has been handed capital punishment for crimes against humanity stemming from her severe measures on student-led protests which caused her removal from power.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of allowing lethal force to be used against demonstrators, 1,400 of whom were killed during the turmoil last year.

Legal proceedings were conducted in absentia by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being the mastermind of numerous deaths during the protests. Hasina has denied all charges, describing the process as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

This judgment represents a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over years of repression. Relatives of the deceased and harmed had called for tough penalties.

Answering the judgment in a comprehensive declaration, she expressed the death penalty was the interim government's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a governing body and that she was content 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 tested fairly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under enhanced protection ahead of the verdict on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina staging a rally and celebrating as the judgment was announced.

The city has seen a sudden increase in unrest, with numerous incendiary devices set off and coaches ignited in the time before the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, local police official Jisanul Haque informed news organizations.

The student-led uprising in the previous year commenced through calls to eliminate state employment quotas but morphed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

UN human rights investigators stated in a document in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could represent "violations of human dignity".

The paper detailed the gunfire from minimal distance of a number of activists, the deliberate maiming of additional individuals, arbitrary arrests and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of one of Hasina's phone calls confirmed by media examinations earlier this year indicated she had authorized the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the trial.

Ahead of the verdict, relatives of those who died in the demonstrations told news agencies they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

Ramjan Ali, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for her and co-accused who have "performed revengeful deeds and abused their power".

A different family member, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "implemented before the election".

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

Following her removal, an caretaker administration led by economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A national vote is scheduled for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the her former political organization, Hasina's political party, was prohibited by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

Hasina warned last month that if the her faction's nominees were prohibited from running in the upcoming election, countless would abstain the ballot.

This decision presents a diplomatic challenge for India and Bangladesh. Dhaka has formally requested her return but until now India has demonstrated no inclination to acquiesce.

Her officially designated attorney Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "disappointed and hoping the verdict had been different".

"I even cannot appeal because my defendants are not present; that's why I am disheartened," he continued.

Recently, Hasina's lawyers said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN highlighting significant due process and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina together with her former home minister and top law enforcement officer.

While the sentence offers some closure to families of killed in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the country's political divisions.

"The anger against the former leader and the Awami League has not subsided," a Dhaka-based rights activist informed media outlets. "Both she and the organization has said sorry or demonstrated contrition for the killings of hundreds of people."

The advocate declared "This creates challenges for the organization to receive endorsement by a most citizens in this nation."

The activist added that the sentence was not finality for the relatives of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We assist several people who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are currently without limbs, as a result of the harsh measures. They are incapable of excusing her."

David Bergman, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a regular participant of Bangladeshi politics again.

This may change if "a form of contrition emerges and a separation from Hasina and the previous administration," he said.