🔗 Share this article

The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been handed capital punishment for atrocities stemming from her crackdown on student-led protests which resulted in her forced departure.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of permitting fatal actions to be used against protesters, among whom around 1,400 people died during the turmoil in the previous 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.

Legal authorities charged her of being behind multiple fatalities during the protests. She has refuted the entire case, labeling the proceedings as "biased and politically motivated".

The decision signifies a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over years of repression. Families of those killed and harmed had requested tough penalties.

Answering the judgment in a detailed document, the former leader stated the execution sentence was the interim government's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a political force and that she was satisfied of her leadership's history on civil liberties.

"I am not afraid to confront those accusing me in a just legal forum where the evidence can be weighed and tested fairly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under enhanced protection prior to the decision on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina staging a rally and celebrating as the verdict was read.

The city has seen a notable rise in turmoil, with numerous incendiary devices set off and public transport vehicles burned in the period preceding the verdict.

One explosive incident was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, regional security representative the police spokesperson informed media outlets.

The protest movement led by students in the previous year started with requests to remove government job quotas but transformed into a broader opposition campaign.

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

The paper detailed the gunfire from minimal distance of some protesters, the intentional injuring of additional individuals, arbitrary arrests and torture.

Disclosed sound files of a telephone conversation involving Hasina verified by investigative sources during the current year suggested she had authorized the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the trial.

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

One relative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for the former leader and associates who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and misused their authority".

A different family member, 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".

"Only then the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will obtain solace in their minds."

Since Hasina's ousting, an temporary leadership headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A parliamentary election is scheduled for February 2026.

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

She alerted during the past month that if the her faction's nominees were barred from participating in the upcoming election, millions would boycott the election.

The judgment creates a foreign relations issue for India and Bangladesh. Authorities have sought her return but to date India has expressed no readiness to comply.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer the defense lawyer said he was "unhappy and desiring the decision had been otherwise".

"I even cannot appeal because my clients are absent; for that reason I am disheartened," he added.

Last week, the defense attorneys said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN pointing out serious fair trial and due process issues at the ICT.

Hasina was tried in conjunction with her former home minister and security forces head.

Even though the verdict offers some closure to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may not significantly ease the nation's partisan rifts.

"The fury directed at the former leader and the the former ruling faction has not diminished," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka informed press agencies. "Neither she nor the party has apologised or shown any remorse for the deaths of numerous individuals."

She said "This complicates matters for the faction to gain approval by a majority of people in this country."

The campaigner further stated that the penalty was not resolution for the relatives of those who died and were wounded.

"We support several people who lost their limbs forever, they are now disabled, as a result of the harsh measures. They will never be able to forgive her."

David Bergman, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict 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 "there is some kind of apology and a disassociation with the former leader and the previous administration," he said.