🔗 Share this article

The country's previous leader has been given a death sentence for human rights violations due to her crackdown on protests led by students which led to her forced departure.

Hasina was declared culpable of allowing lethal force to be used against activists, among whom around 1,400 people lost their lives during the disturbances last year.

Hasina was tried in absentia by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being responsible for hundreds of killings during the protests. Hasina has denied the entire case, calling the trial as "biased and politically motivated".

The verdict marks a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over years of repression. Relatives of the deceased and wounded had requested tough penalties.

Answering the judgment in a five-page statement, she expressed the capital punishment was the temporary leadership's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a political force and that she was satisfied of her government's record on individual freedoms.

"I do not fear to face my accusers in a just legal forum where the evidence can be weighed and examined justly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under enhanced protection ahead of the ruling on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina holding a protest and applauding as the judgment was announced.

Dhaka experienced a notable rise in disturbances, with dozens of bombs exploded and buses set on fire in the days leading up to the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, area law enforcement officer the authorities' representative told news organizations.

The student-led uprising last year started with calls to eliminate public sector reservation policies but transformed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

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

The study recorded the gunfire from minimal distance of certain demonstrators, the deliberate maiming of further participants, arbitrary arrests and abuse.

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader verified by media examinations in previous months suggested she had approved the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the proceedings.

Prior to the ruling, relatives of those killed during the protests stated to press outlets they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

A family representative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for her and co-accused who have "performed revengeful deeds and exploited their positions".

Another relative, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "implemented before the election".

"Only then the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will achieve closure in their hearts."

Following her removal, an interim government under the guidance of economic expert Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A national vote is set for February 2026.

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

She alerted during the past month that if the party's candidates were banned from standing in the upcoming election, countless would abstain the election.

The verdict now poses a foreign relations issue for the neighboring countries. The Bangladesh government has asked her extradition but so far India has shown no willingness to agree.

The legal representative assigned to her the defense lawyer said he was "sad [and wishes] the verdict had been different".

"I even cannot appeal because my defendants are not present; that's why I am disappointed," he added.

Recently, the defense attorneys said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN highlighting serious fair trial and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

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

Even though the verdict offers some closure to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may do little to soothe the country's political divisions.

"The anger against Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not decreased," a Dhaka-based rights activist told news organizations. "Neither she nor the party has expressed regret or shown any remorse for the fatalities of countless citizens."

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

The advocate continued that the punishment was not resolution for the kin of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We work with multiple individuals who suffered permanent amputations, they are now disabled, due to the crackdown. They will never be able to forgive her."

A journalist, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it increasingly challenging" for Awami League to become a normal feature of the nation's political landscape again.

This may change if "there is some kind of apology and a distancing from Sheikh Hasina and the former hierarchy," he expressed.