🔗 Share this article

Bangladesh's former prime minister has been handed capital punishment for crimes against humanity over her severe measures on protests led by students which led to her ousting.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of permitting fatal actions to be used against demonstrators, with approximately 1,400 individuals were killed during the disturbances in the previous year.

Legal proceedings were conducted while she was absent by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) 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, describing the process as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The verdict marks a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over extended periods of oppression. Relatives of the deceased and injured had demanded strict sentences.

Responding to the decision in a detailed document, she expressed the execution sentence was the interim government's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a political force and that she was content of her government's record on human rights.

"I have no trepidation to confront those accusing me in a proper tribunal where the facts can be assessed and reviewed impartially."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under enhanced protection ahead of the ruling on Monday, with several of her detractors holding a protest and celebrating as the judgment was announced.

The city has seen a sudden increase in unrest, with dozens of bombs exploded and buses set on fire in the period preceding the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, area law enforcement officer the police spokesperson told media outlets.

The student-led uprising in the previous year commenced through demands to abolish government job quotas but morphed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

UN human rights investigators declared in an analysis in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could amount to "violations of human dignity".

The study recorded the gunfire from minimal distance of some protesters, the intentional injuring of further participants, unwarranted detentions and abuse.

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader verified by investigative sources in previous months indicated she had authorized the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the legal process.

Prior to the ruling, relatives of those who died in the demonstrations stated to press outlets they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

One relative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for Hasina and others who have "performed revengeful deeds and abused their power".

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

"Exclusively thereafter the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will obtain solace in their souls."

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

Nevertheless, the Awami League, the former ruling party, was banned by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

Hasina warned in the previous month that if the her faction's nominees were prohibited from running in the imminent electoral process, millions would boycott the ballot.

The verdict now poses a international dilemma for India and Bangladesh. Authorities have sought her repatriation but so far India has shown no willingness to acquiesce.

Her officially designated attorney Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "unhappy and desiring the outcome had varied".

"I am unable to challenge because my clients are absent; for that reason I am disappointed," he added.

Recently, the defense attorneys said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN pointing out significant due process and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina in conjunction with her ex-interior minister and police chief.

Although the punishment provides certain resolution to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may not significantly ease the state's ideological splits.

"The anger against the former leader and the her political party has not diminished," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka informed media outlets. "Both she and the organization has apologised or shown any remorse for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The advocate declared "It makes it difficult for the party to be accepted by a majority of people in this nation."

The advocate continued that the penalty was not finality for the families of those who died and were wounded.

"We work with multiple individuals who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are currently without limbs, as a result of the harsh measures. They will never be able to forgive 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 the nation's political landscape again.

This might transform if "a form of contrition emerges and a disassociation with Sheikh Hasina and the former hierarchy," he expressed.