🔗 Share this article

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

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of allowing lethal force to be used against activists, among whom around 1,400 people were killed during the turmoil in the previous year.

Legal proceedings were conducted without her presence by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being the mastermind of numerous deaths during the protests. She has refuted all charges, calling the trial as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The decision signifies a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over years of repression. Next of kin of victims and injured had requested strict sentences.

Reacting to the verdict in a detailed document, Hasina said the capital punishment was the temporary leadership's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a electoral entity and that she was satisfied of her government's record on human rights.

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

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under increased safeguards before the ruling on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina organizing a demonstration and cheering as the judgment was announced.

The capital witnessed a notable rise in disturbances, with numerous incendiary devices set off and buses set on fire in the period preceding the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, area law enforcement officer Jisanul Haque informed news organizations.

The protest movement led by students last year began with requests to remove government job quotas but evolved into a broader opposition campaign.

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

The report documented the shooting at point-blank range of some protesters, the purposeful disabling of additional individuals, arbitrary arrests and abuse.

Disclosed sound files of one of Hasina's phone calls verified by investigative sources 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, kin of those killed during the protests told news agencies they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

A family representative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for the former leader and associates who have "performed revengeful deeds and misused their authority".

Another relative, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "carried out before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the families of those killed [in the protests] will achieve closure in their hearts."

After her departure, an temporary leadership led by economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A national vote is set for February 2026.

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

She alerted last month that if the the League's representatives were barred from participating in the imminent electoral process, countless would abstain the election.

The judgment creates a international dilemma for India and Bangladesh. The Bangladesh government has asked her extradition but until now India has demonstrated no inclination to comply.

Her officially designated attorney the defense lawyer said he was "sad [and wishes] the decision had been otherwise".

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

Recently, Hasina's lawyers said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN pointing out serious fair trial and due process issues at the ICT.

Hasina was tried in conjunction with her previous domestic affairs official and police chief.

While the sentence grants partial finality to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may not significantly ease the country's political divisions.

"The anger against Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not decreased," a Dhaka-based rights activist stated to press agencies. "Neither she nor the party has apologised or demonstrated contrition for the fatalities of countless citizens."

She said "This creates challenges for the organization to receive endorsement by a bulk of the population in this country."

The advocate continued that the punishment was not finality for the relatives of those killed and injured.

"We assist numerous persons who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are currently without limbs, due to the crackdown. They cannot pardon her."

David Bergman, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it particularly hard" for her party to become a standard element of the country's governance system again.

This might transform if "a form of contrition emerges and a disassociation with the former leader and the previous administration," he stated.