🔗 Share this article

The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been sentenced to death for human rights violations stemming from her harsh response on student-led protests which caused her forced departure.

Hasina was declared culpable of permitting fatal actions to be used against protesters, with approximately 1,400 individuals were killed during the disturbances in the previous year.

The trial proceeded while she was absent by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being behind hundreds of killings during the protests. The former leader rejected the entire case, labeling the proceedings as "biased and politically motivated".

The decision signifies a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over extended periods of oppression. Next of kin of victims and harmed had called for strict sentences.

Responding to the decision in a detailed document, she expressed the death penalty was the caretaker administration's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was satisfied of her leadership's history on human rights.

"I have no trepidation to face my accusers in a just legal forum where the evidence can be weighed and examined justly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under increased safeguards before the ruling on Monday, with several of her detractors staging a rally and applauding as the judgment was announced.

Dhaka experienced a recent spike in unrest, with dozens of bombs exploded and coaches ignited in the period preceding the verdict.

One explosive incident was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, regional security representative the authorities' representative told press agencies.

The protest movement led by students last year commenced through demands to abolish public sector reservation policies but morphed into a broader opposition campaign.

UN human rights investigators stated in a document in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could constitute "human rights atrocities".

The study recorded the shooting at point-blank range of certain demonstrators, the deliberate maiming of further participants, unjustified apprehensions and mistreatment.

Unauthorized recordings of a telephone conversation involving Hasina verified by investigative sources earlier this year implied she had sanctioned the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the trial.

Ahead of the verdict, 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 "exemplary punishment" for her and co-accused who have "committed acts of vengeance and abused their power".

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".

"Exclusively thereafter the families of those killed [in the protests] will obtain solace in their souls."

Since Hasina's ousting, an caretaker administration led by economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A general election is set for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the Awami League, her political faction, was prohibited by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

The former leader cautioned in the previous month that if the her faction's nominees were barred from participating in the forthcoming vote, millions would boycott the vote.

The judgment creates a diplomatic challenge for both nations. Authorities have sought her return but to date India has expressed no readiness to agree.

The legal representative assigned to her her legal counsel said he was "sad [and wishes] the outcome had varied".

"I cannot even contest because my clients are absent; that's why I am disappointed," he stated further.

Last week, her legal team said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN raising major judicial fairness and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Hasina was tried alongside her former home minister and security forces head.

Even though the verdict provides certain resolution to families of killed in the protests, it may not significantly ease the state's ideological splits.

"The resentment towards Sheikh Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not subsided," a human rights advocate from the capital told news organizations. "The leader and her faction has expressed regret or shown any remorse for the killings of hundreds of people."

The activist stated "This complicates matters for the faction to gain approval by a most citizens in this country."

The activist added that the punishment was not finality for the families of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We assist multiple individuals who lost their limbs forever, they are currently without limbs, due to the crackdown. They are incapable of excusing her."

An analyst, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it even more difficult" for the political faction to become a normal feature of the nation's political landscape again.

This may change if "a form of contrition emerges and a disassociation with Hasina and the previous administration," he stated.