🔗 Share this article

The country's previous leader has been handed capital punishment for human rights violations stemming from her crackdown on student-led protests which led to her forced departure.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of permitting fatal actions to be used against activists, 1,400 of whom were killed during the unrest in the previous year.

The trial proceeded without her presence by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being the mastermind of multiple fatalities during the protests. She has refuted the entire case, calling the trial as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The decision signifies a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over years of repression. Families of those killed and harmed had called for strict sentences.

Responding to the decision in a five-page statement, Hasina said the death penalty was the caretaker administration's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a political force and that she was satisfied of her administration's performance on individual freedoms.

"I am not afraid to meet my challengers in a proper tribunal where the evidence can be weighed and tested fairly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under increased safeguards ahead of the ruling on Monday, with several of her detractors organizing a demonstration and applauding as the judgment was announced.

The capital witnessed a recent spike in disturbances, with multiple explosives detonated and coaches ignited in the time before the verdict.

One explosive incident was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, local police official Jisanul Haque told press agencies.

The youth-driven revolt last year started with calls to eliminate government job 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 amount to "human rights atrocities".

The paper detailed the gunfire from minimal distance of some protesters, the deliberate maiming of others, unjustified apprehensions and abuse.

Disclosed sound files of one of Hasina's phone calls confirmed by investigative sources in previous months indicated she had sanctioned the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the proceedings.

Before the decision, relatives of those who died in the demonstrations stated to media representatives they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

Ramjan Ali, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for her and co-accused who have "committed acts of vengeance 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 "executed before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the families of those killed [in the protests] will obtain solace in their souls."

After her departure, an caretaker administration under the guidance of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A national vote is scheduled for February 2026.

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

She alerted last month that if the party's candidates were banned from standing in the imminent electoral process, millions would boycott the vote.

The verdict now poses a foreign relations issue for both nations. Authorities have sought her extradition but so far India has shown no willingness to comply.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer the defense lawyer said he was "sad [and wishes] the decision had been otherwise".

"I am unable to challenge because my represented individuals are away; for that reason I am disheartened," he added.

Recently, Hasina's lawyers said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN pointing out major judicial fairness and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Hasina was tried in conjunction with her ex-interior minister and police chief.

Although the punishment provides certain resolution to kin of victims in the protests, it may do little to soothe the nation's partisan rifts.

"The resentment towards Hasina and the her political party has not decreased," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka stated to press agencies. "Both she and the organization has apologised or shown any remorse for the killings of hundreds of people."

The advocate declared "This complicates matters for the organization to receive endorsement by a bulk of the population in this country."

The campaigner further stated that the punishment was not finality for the relatives of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We support numerous persons who suffered permanent amputations, they are currently without limbs, because of the suppression. They will never be able to forgive her."

A journalist, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation 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 the former leader and the previous administration," he stated.