🔗 Share this article

The country's previous leader has been sentenced to death for human rights violations due to her harsh response on youth demonstrations which caused her forced departure.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of authorizing deadly measures to be used against protesters, among whom around 1,400 people were killed during the disturbances in the previous year.

Hasina was tried without her presence by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being behind hundreds of killings during the protests. Hasina has denied all charges, labeling the proceedings as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

This judgment represents a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over years of repression. Relatives of the deceased and injured had demanded tough penalties.

Answering the judgment in a comprehensive declaration, she expressed the execution sentence was the temporary leadership's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a political force and that she was proud of her government's record on civil liberties.

"I have no trepidation to face my accusers in a fair court where the facts can be assessed and examined justly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under enhanced protection prior to the ruling on Monday, with several of her detractors holding a protest and cheering as the verdict was read.

The capital witnessed a sudden increase in disturbances, with numerous incendiary devices set off and buses set on fire in the days leading up to the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, area law enforcement officer Jisanul Haque told press agencies.

The student-led uprising last year began with demands to abolish government job quotas but transformed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

International human rights monitors said in a report in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could represent "violations of human dignity".

The report documented the gunfire from minimal distance of certain demonstrators, the intentional injuring of others, unwarranted detentions and mistreatment.

Unauthorized recordings of one of Hasina's phone calls verified by investigative sources earlier this year suggested she had authorized the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the legal process.

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

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

A different family member, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "implemented before the election".

"Only then the kin of victims [in the protests] will achieve closure in their minds."

Since Hasina's ousting, an interim government headed by economist Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A parliamentary election is scheduled for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the Hasina's political party, her political faction, was prohibited by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

Hasina warned during the past month that if the party's candidates were prohibited from running in the upcoming election, millions would boycott the election.

The judgment creates a foreign relations issue for both nations. Authorities have sought her extradition but so far India has expressed no readiness to comply.

Her officially designated attorney the defense lawyer said he was "unhappy and desiring the decision had been otherwise".

"I cannot even contest because my defendants are not present; which is why I am disheartened," he added.

Last week, her legal team 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 previous domestic affairs official and top law enforcement officer.

Although the punishment grants partial finality to families of killed in the protests, it may do little to soothe the country's political divisions.

"The anger against the former leader and the Awami League has not subsided," a Dhaka-based rights activist stated to press agencies. "Neither she nor the party has expressed regret or shown any remorse for the killings of hundreds of people."

She said "It makes it difficult for the organization to receive endorsement by a bulk of the population in this state."

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

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

David Bergman, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it even more difficult" for Awami League to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.

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