🔗 Share this article

The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been given a death sentence for crimes against humanity over her crackdown on youth demonstrations which led to her forced departure.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of allowing lethal force to be used against demonstrators, 1,400 of whom 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.

Prosecutors accused her of being responsible for numerous deaths during the protests. The former leader rejected every accusation, labeling the proceedings as "biased and politically motivated".

The decision signifies a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over years of repression. Relatives of the deceased and harmed had demanded tough penalties.

Reacting to the verdict in a detailed document, Hasina said the death penalty was the temporary leadership's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a political force and that she was proud of her leadership's history on human rights.

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

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under tightened security ahead of the decision on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina holding a protest and cheering as the verdict was read.

Dhaka experienced a notable rise in disturbances, with dozens of bombs exploded and public transport vehicles burned in the period preceding the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, regional security representative the police spokesperson told media outlets.

The youth-driven revolt in the previous year commenced through calls to eliminate state employment quotas but evolved into a more extensive dissent initiative.

United Nations rights examiners declared in an analysis in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could represent "violations of human dignity".

The report documented the gunfire from minimal distance of some protesters, the intentional injuring of further participants, arbitrary arrests and abuse.

Leaked audio of a telephone conversation involving Hasina verified by media examinations during the current year indicated she had approved the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the proceedings.

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

Ramjan Ali, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for her and co-accused who have "committed acts of vengeance 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".

"Solely at that point the families of those killed [in the protests] will find peace in their minds."

After her departure, an caretaker administration headed by economist Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A general election is scheduled for February 2026.

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

The former leader cautioned during the past month that if the party's candidates were barred from participating in the forthcoming vote, countless would abstain the election.

The judgment creates a diplomatic challenge for both nations. The Bangladesh government has asked her repatriation but to date India has demonstrated no inclination to comply.

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

"I am unable to challenge because my clients are absent; that's why I am sad," he added.

Recently, Hasina's lawyers said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN highlighting serious fair trial and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Hasina was tried alongside her former home minister and police chief.

Although the punishment grants partial finality to families of killed in the protests, it may not significantly ease the country's political divisions.

"The fury directed at Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not subsided," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka stated to press agencies. "The leader and her faction has said sorry or demonstrated contrition for the killings of hundreds of people."

She said "This creates challenges for the faction to gain approval by a most citizens in this state."

The advocate continued that the penalty was not finality for the kin of those killed and injured.

"We work with multiple individuals who suffered permanent amputations, they are currently without limbs, because of the suppression. They are incapable of excusing her."

David Bergman, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it particularly hard" for her party to become a standard element of Bangladeshi politics again.

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