🔗 Share this article

The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been sentenced to death for human rights violations over her harsh response on student-led protests which resulted in her ousting.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of allowing lethal force to be used against activists, 1,400 of whom died during the turmoil during 2024.

The trial proceeded while she was absent by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being responsible for hundreds of killings during the protests. Hasina has denied every accusation, calling the trial as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The verdict marks a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over years of repression. Relatives of the deceased and harmed had requested strict sentences.

Answering the judgment in a detailed document, she expressed the death penalty was the interim government's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a political force and that she was satisfied of her administration's performance on civil liberties.

"I do not fear to face my accusers in a fair court where the facts can be assessed and tested fairly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under increased safeguards before the verdict on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics staging a rally and cheering as the verdict was read.

Dhaka experienced a sudden increase in disturbances, with multiple explosives detonated and coaches ignited in the time before the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, area law enforcement officer the authorities' representative informed media outlets.

The youth-driven revolt in the previous year commenced through requests to remove public sector reservation policies but evolved into a wider anti-government movement.

UN human rights investigators declared in an analysis in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could constitute "crimes against humanity".

The study recorded the shooting at point-blank range of a number of activists, the intentional injuring of further participants, unwarranted detentions and mistreatment.

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader verified by media examinations earlier this year implied she had approved the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the proceedings.

Before the decision, family members of those fatally injured in the unrest stated to press outlets they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

One relative, 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".

Another relative, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "executed before the election".

"Only then the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will find peace in their hearts."

Since Hasina's ousting, an interim government under the guidance of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A parliamentary election is scheduled for February 2026.

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

The former leader cautioned last month that if the party's candidates were prohibited from running in the imminent electoral process, millions would boycott the ballot.

This decision presents a international dilemma for the neighboring countries. The Bangladesh government has asked her repatriation but so far India has shown no willingness to comply.

The legal representative assigned to her the defense lawyer said he was "disappointed and hoping the decision had been otherwise".

"I am unable to challenge because my clients are absent; that's why I am disheartened," he stated further.

The previous week, Hasina's lawyers said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN highlighting significant due process and due process issues at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial in conjunction with her former home minister 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 the former ruling faction has not decreased," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka stated to press agencies. "Both she and the organization has expressed regret or shown any remorse for the killings of hundreds of people."

She said "This creates challenges for the faction to gain approval by a majority of people in this state."

The advocate continued that the punishment was not closure for the kin of those killed and injured.

"We work with numerous persons who suffered permanent amputations, 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 "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it particularly hard" for Awami League to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.

This could alter if "a form of contrition emerges and a disassociation with Sheikh Hasina and the old leadership," he said.