🔗 Share this article

The country's previous leader has been handed capital punishment for human rights violations stemming from her severe measures on student-led protests which caused her ousting.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of permitting fatal actions to be used against activists, 1,400 of whom were killed during the turmoil during 2024.

Hasina was tried while she was absent by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being responsible for multiple fatalities during the protests. The former leader rejected every accusation, describing the process as "biased and politically motivated".

The decision signifies a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over long-standing suppression. Relatives of the deceased and wounded had called for strict sentences.

Reacting to the verdict in a comprehensive declaration, the former leader stated the death penalty was the caretaker administration's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was content of her administration's performance on individual freedoms.

"I am not afraid to confront those accusing me in a proper tribunal where the proof can be evaluated and reviewed impartially."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under increased safeguards ahead of the verdict on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics holding a protest and cheering as the sentence was declared.

The city has seen a notable rise 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 recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, area law enforcement officer Jisanul Haque informed news organizations.

The youth-driven revolt last year started with demands to abolish public sector reservation policies but morphed into a broader opposition campaign.

UN human rights investigators declared in an analysis in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could amount to "crimes against humanity".

The study recorded the gunfire from minimal distance of certain demonstrators, the purposeful disabling of others, unjustified apprehensions and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader verified by media examinations during the current year indicated she had authorized the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the proceedings.

Before the decision, kin of those who died in the demonstrations told media representatives they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

One relative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for her and co-accused who have "committed acts of vengeance and misused their authority".

Lucky Akther, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "implemented before the election".

"Only then the families of those killed [in the protests] will achieve closure in their minds."

After her departure, an temporary leadership led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A national vote is scheduled for February 2026.

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

She alerted in the previous month that if the her faction's nominees were prohibited from running in the upcoming election, millions would boycott the vote.

The judgment creates a foreign relations issue for both nations. The Bangladesh government has asked her extradition but so far India has expressed no readiness to acquiesce.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer her legal counsel said he was "sad [and wishes] the verdict had been different".

"I cannot even contest because my clients are absent; which is why I am disheartened," he added.

Last week, Hasina's lawyers said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN highlighting major judicial fairness and due process issues at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina in conjunction with her previous domestic affairs official and police chief.

While the sentence provides certain resolution to kin of victims in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the country's political divisions.

"The fury directed at Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not subsided," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka stated to news organizations. "The leader and her faction has apologised or shown any remorse for the killings of hundreds of people."

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

The activist added that the sentence was not closure for the families of those killed and injured.

"We assist numerous persons who suffered permanent amputations, they are now disabled, as a result of the harsh measures. They will never be able to forgive her."

David Bergman, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it increasingly challenging" for Awami League to become a standard element of Bangladeshi politics again.

This might transform if "a form of contrition emerges and a distancing from Hasina and the former hierarchy," he said.