🔗 Share this article

The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been given a death sentence for human rights violations due to her crackdown on student-led protests which resulted in her removal from power.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of permitting fatal actions to be used against protesters, with approximately 1,400 individuals lost their lives during the unrest in the previous year.

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

The prosecution alleged of being the mastermind of hundreds of killings during the protests. She has refuted the entire case, labeling the proceedings as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The verdict marks a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over long-standing suppression. Relatives of the deceased and injured had called for tough penalties.

Reacting to the verdict in a detailed document, Hasina said the death penalty was the caretaker administration's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was satisfied of her administration's performance on human rights.

"I am not afraid to face my accusers in a just legal forum where the facts can be assessed and examined justly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under tightened security before the decision on Monday, with several of her detractors staging a rally and cheering as the judgment was announced.

The capital witnessed a notable rise in turmoil, with multiple explosives detonated and buses set on fire in the period preceding the verdict.

One explosive incident was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, local police official the authorities' representative told press agencies.

The student-led uprising during 2024 started with calls to eliminate state employment quotas but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.

International human rights monitors said in a report in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could constitute "human rights atrocities".

The paper detailed the firing at close quarters of some protesters, the deliberate maiming of others, unwarranted detentions and mistreatment.

Leaked audio of one of Hasina's phone calls verified by investigative sources during the current year suggested she had sanctioned the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the trial.

Prior to the ruling, kin of those who died in the demonstrations informed press outlets they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

A family representative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for Hasina and others who have "performed revengeful deeds and abused their power".

A different family member, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "carried out before the election".

"Only then the kin of victims [in the protests] will obtain solace in their minds."

Following her removal, an interim government under the guidance of economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A parliamentary election is set for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the Awami League, Hasina's political party, was outlawed by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

The former leader cautioned in the previous month that if the the League's representatives were prohibited from running in the upcoming election, countless would abstain the ballot.

This decision presents a foreign relations issue for India and Bangladesh. The Bangladesh government has asked her extradition but until now India has shown no willingness to agree.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer her legal counsel said he was "sad [and wishes] the outcome had varied".

"I am unable to challenge because my clients are absent; for that reason I am disheartened," he added.

Last week, Hasina's lawyers said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN highlighting significant due process and judicial process problems at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial alongside her ex-interior minister and police chief.

Even though the verdict grants partial finality to kin of victims in the protests, it may not significantly ease the nation's partisan rifts.

"The anger against Hasina and the Awami League has not decreased," a Dhaka-based rights activist stated to press agencies. "Both she and the organization has apologised or shown any remorse for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The advocate declared "This creates challenges for the organization to receive endorsement by a most citizens in this state."

The advocate continued that the sentence was not finality for the families of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We support multiple individuals who lost their limbs forever, they are currently without limbs, as a result of the harsh measures. They cannot pardon her."

David Bergman, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it even more difficult" for Awami League to become a standard element of the nation's political landscape again.

This could alter if "an expression of regret occurs and a distancing from the former leader and the previous administration," he stated.