🔗 Share this article

The country's previous leader has been handed capital punishment for crimes against humanity due to her harsh response on student-led protests which led to her removal from power.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of allowing lethal force to be used against activists, among whom around 1,400 people lost their lives during the disturbances during 2024.

Legal proceedings were conducted while she was absent by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being the mastermind of hundreds of killings during the protests. She has refuted the entire case, describing the process as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

This judgment represents a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over years of repression. Families of those killed and wounded had requested strict sentences.

Responding to the decision in a comprehensive declaration, Hasina said the death penalty was the caretaker administration's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a political force and that she was content of her administration's performance on civil liberties.

"I do not fear to meet my challengers in a fair court where the facts can be assessed and reviewed impartially."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under enhanced protection prior to the ruling on Monday, with several of her detractors holding a protest and celebrating as the judgment was announced.

Dhaka experienced a notable rise in unrest, with numerous incendiary devices set off and coaches ignited in the days leading up to the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, regional security representative the police spokesperson stated to news organizations.

The student-led uprising last year began with calls to eliminate state employment quotas but transformed into a wider anti-government movement.

United Nations rights examiners stated in a document in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could amount to "violations of human dignity".

The study recorded the firing at close quarters of a number of activists, the intentional injuring of further participants, unjustified apprehensions and mistreatment.

Leaked audio of a call made by the former leader confirmed by investigative sources in previous months suggested she had authorized the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the trial.

Prior to the ruling, kin of those killed during the protests informed press outlets they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

A family representative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for the former leader and associates who have "performed revengeful deeds and abused their power".

Another relative, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "executed before the election".

"Solely at that point the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will achieve closure in their minds."

After her departure, an caretaker administration under the guidance of economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A national vote is scheduled for February 2026.

However, the her former political organization, her political faction, was outlawed by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

She alerted last month that if the the League's representatives were prohibited from running in the forthcoming vote, millions would boycott the vote.

The judgment creates a diplomatic challenge for both nations. Dhaka has formally requested her repatriation but to date India has expressed no readiness to acquiesce.

The legal representative assigned to her the defense lawyer said he was "unhappy and desiring the outcome had varied".

"I cannot even contest because my represented individuals are away; that's why I am disappointed," he added.

The previous week, the defense attorneys said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN highlighting serious fair trial and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Hasina was tried alongside her ex-interior minister and security forces head.

Although the punishment offers some closure to kin of victims in the protests, it may not significantly ease the country's political divisions.

"The anger against the former leader and the her political party has not decreased," a human rights advocate from the capital informed news organizations. "Both she and the organization has said sorry or displayed repentance for the fatalities of countless citizens."

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

The activist added that the sentence was not resolution for the relatives of those who died and were wounded.

"We support several people who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are currently without limbs, due to the crackdown. They cannot pardon her."

An analyst, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it even more difficult" for her party to become a regular participant of Bangladeshi politics again.

This may change if "a form of contrition emerges and a distancing from the former leader and the old leadership," he said.