🔗 Share this article

The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been handed capital punishment for human rights violations over her harsh response on protests led by students which resulted in her removal from power.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of authorizing deadly measures to be used against demonstrators, among whom around 1,400 people were killed during the unrest last year.

The trial proceeded without her presence by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being responsible for multiple fatalities during the protests. Hasina has denied all charges, calling the trial as "unfair and agenda-driven".

This judgment represents a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over years of repression. Relatives of the deceased and injured had demanded severe punishments.

Responding to the decision in a detailed document, she expressed the execution sentence was the caretaker administration's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was content of her leadership's history on civil liberties.

"I am not afraid to meet my challengers in a fair court where the evidence can be weighed and examined justly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under increased safeguards prior to the verdict on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics organizing a demonstration and cheering as the judgment was announced.

The city has seen a recent spike in disturbances, with dozens of bombs exploded and buses set on fire in the period preceding the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, regional security representative the authorities' representative told media outlets.

The student-led uprising in the previous year started with demands to abolish public sector reservation policies but transformed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

UN human rights investigators declared in an analysis in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could represent "violations of human dignity".

The study recorded the shooting at point-blank range of some protesters, the purposeful disabling of others, unjustified apprehensions and abuse.

Unauthorized recordings of a telephone conversation involving Hasina authenticated by external reviews in previous months indicated she had authorized the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the legal process.

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

A family representative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for her and co-accused who have "performed revengeful deeds and misused their authority".

Another relative, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "implemented before the election".

"Solely at that point the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will find peace in their hearts."

Following her removal, an caretaker administration led by economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A national vote is scheduled for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the Hasina's political party, her political faction, was outlawed by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

Hasina warned last month that if the party's candidates were barred from participating in the upcoming election, millions would boycott the ballot.

The verdict now poses a foreign relations issue for both nations. Authorities have sought her repatriation but to date India has demonstrated no inclination to comply.

Her officially designated attorney her legal counsel said he was "sad [and wishes] the verdict had been different".

"I even cannot appeal because my represented individuals are away; that's why I am disheartened," he continued.

The previous week, her legal team said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN highlighting serious fair trial and due process issues at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina alongside her ex-interior minister and security forces head.

Even though the verdict grants partial finality to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the country's political divisions.

"The resentment towards the former leader and the the former ruling faction has not subsided," a human rights advocate from the capital stated to media outlets. "Both she and the organization has apologised or shown any remorse for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The advocate declared "This complicates matters for the faction to gain approval by a bulk of the population in this country."

The campaigner further stated that the sentence was not resolution for the families of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We support multiple individuals who suffered permanent amputations, they are now disabled, due to the crackdown. They cannot pardon her."

An analyst, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it even more difficult" for the political faction to become a standard element of Bangladeshi politics again.

This may change if "an expression of regret occurs and a separation from Hasina and the old leadership," he expressed.