🔗 Share this article

The country's previous leader has been sentenced to death for human rights violations over her harsh response on student-led protests which led to her forced departure.

Hasina was declared culpable of authorizing deadly measures to be used against protesters, with approximately 1,400 individuals lost their lives during the turmoil in the previous year.

Legal proceedings were conducted while she was absent by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being the mastermind of numerous deaths during the protests. The former leader rejected every accusation, labeling the proceedings as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The decision signifies a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over years of repression. Next of kin of victims and harmed had called for severe punishments.

Responding to the decision in a detailed document, Hasina said the capital punishment was the caretaker administration's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a political force and that she was proud of her leadership's history on human rights.

"I have no trepidation to face my accusers in a just legal forum where the facts can be assessed and tested fairly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under increased safeguards ahead of the decision on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics holding a protest and celebrating as the judgment was announced.

The capital witnessed a notable rise in unrest, with multiple explosives detonated and public transport vehicles burned in the period preceding the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, local police official the authorities' representative told news organizations.

The protest movement led by students during 2024 began with demands to abolish state employment quotas but transformed into a broader opposition campaign.

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

The paper detailed the shooting at point-blank range of certain demonstrators, the deliberate maiming of additional individuals, arbitrary arrests and mistreatment.

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader authenticated by external reviews earlier this year suggested she had sanctioned the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the legal process.

Ahead of the verdict, relatives of those fatally injured in the unrest informed media representatives they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

One relative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for the former leader and associates who have "performed revengeful deeds and exploited their positions".

A different family member, whose spouse died 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 relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will obtain solace in their souls."

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

Nonetheless, the her former political organization, her political faction, was outlawed by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

She alerted during the past month that if the the League's representatives were banned from standing in the forthcoming vote, numerous would avoid the election.

The judgment creates a international dilemma for the neighboring countries. The Bangladesh government has asked her extradition but until now India has demonstrated no inclination to comply.

Her officially designated attorney Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "disappointed and hoping the decision had been otherwise".

"I am unable to challenge because my defendants are not present; for that reason I am sad," he stated further.

Recently, her legal team said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN pointing out significant due process and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Hasina was tried alongside her former home minister and security forces head.

While the sentence provides certain resolution to kin of victims in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the state's ideological splits.

"The fury directed at the former leader and the her political party has not subsided," a human rights advocate from the capital informed news organizations. "Neither she nor the party has said sorry or displayed repentance for the fatalities of countless citizens."

She said "It makes it difficult for the party to be accepted by a most citizens in this country."

The campaigner further stated that the penalty was not closure for the families of those who died and were wounded.

"We work with several people who lost their limbs forever, they are now disabled, because of the suppression. 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 particularly hard" for her party to become a normal feature of the nation's political landscape again.

This might transform if "an expression of regret occurs and a separation from Sheikh Hasina and the old leadership," he said.