🔗 Share this article

The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been given a death sentence for atrocities over her severe measures on youth demonstrations which resulted in her forced departure.

Hasina was declared culpable of permitting fatal actions to be used against activists, 1,400 of whom lost their lives during the unrest during 2024.

The trial proceeded in absentia by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being behind hundreds of killings during the protests. She has refuted the entire case, labeling the proceedings as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The decision signifies a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over long-standing suppression. Relatives of the deceased and injured had called for tough penalties.

Answering the judgment in a detailed document, she expressed the capital punishment was the interim government's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a electoral entity and that she was proud of her administration's performance on individual freedoms.

"I do not fear to meet my challengers in a just legal forum where the evidence can be weighed and tested fairly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under tightened security ahead of the verdict on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina organizing a demonstration and celebrating as the judgment was announced.

Dhaka experienced a notable rise in turmoil, with dozens of bombs exploded and buses set on fire in the time before the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, local police official Jisanul Haque stated to news organizations.

The protest movement led by students during 2024 started with demands to abolish state employment quotas but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.

UN human rights investigators stated in a document in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could constitute "human rights atrocities".

The report documented the shooting at point-blank range of a number of activists, the purposeful disabling of additional individuals, unwarranted detentions and abuse.

Leaked audio of a call made by the former leader verified by media examinations during the current year implied she had approved the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the proceedings.

Before the decision, relatives of those who died in the demonstrations stated to media representatives they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

A family representative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" 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 "executed before the election".

"Only then the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will find peace in their souls."

Following her removal, an interim government headed by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A national vote is set for February 2026.

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

Hasina warned in the previous month that if the the League's representatives were barred from participating in the upcoming election, countless would abstain the ballot.

The judgment creates a foreign relations issue for the neighboring countries. Dhaka has formally requested her extradition but until now India has shown no willingness to agree.

Her officially designated attorney Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "unhappy and desiring the verdict had been different".

"I am unable to challenge because my clients are absent; for that reason I am disheartened," he stated further.

Last week, Hasina's lawyers said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN highlighting serious fair trial and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Hasina was tried alongside her former home minister and top law enforcement officer.

While the sentence grants partial finality to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may not significantly ease the nation's partisan rifts.

"The resentment towards the former leader and the the former ruling faction has not decreased," a Dhaka-based rights activist stated to media outlets. "Both she and the organization has expressed regret or shown any remorse for the killings of hundreds of people."

The activist stated "It makes it difficult for the party to be accepted by a bulk of the population in this nation."

The advocate continued that the sentence was not closure for the relatives of those who died and were wounded.

"We work with several people who suffered permanent amputations, they are amputees now, because of the suppression. They cannot pardon her."

An analyst, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it increasingly challenging" for Awami League to become a regular participant of the country's governance system again.

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