🔗 Share this article

The country's previous leader has been sentenced to death for human rights violations stemming from her crackdown on student-led protests which resulted in her ousting.

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

Legal proceedings were conducted while she was absent by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being responsible for numerous deaths during the protests. Hasina has denied the entire case, calling the trial as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The verdict marks a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over extended periods of oppression. Next of kin of victims and wounded had demanded strict sentences.

Answering the judgment in a detailed document, she expressed the execution sentence was the interim government's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a political force and that she was content of her leadership's history on individual freedoms.

"I do not fear to face my accusers in a fair court where the proof can be evaluated and examined justly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under enhanced protection ahead of the ruling on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics organizing a demonstration and cheering as the sentence was declared.

Dhaka experienced a sudden increase in unrest, with dozens of bombs exploded and coaches ignited in the time before the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, area law enforcement officer the authorities' representative told press agencies.

The protest movement led by students during 2024 started with calls to eliminate state employment quotas but transformed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

UN human rights investigators stated in a document in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could amount to "violations of human dignity".

The paper detailed the firing at close quarters of a number of activists, the deliberate maiming of others, unjustified apprehensions and torture.

Leaked audio of one of Hasina's phone calls confirmed by external reviews in previous months indicated she had sanctioned the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the legal process.

Ahead of the verdict, family members of those who died in the demonstrations stated to news agencies they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

A family representative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for the former leader and associates who have "performed revengeful deeds and misused their authority".

A different family member, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "executed before the election".

"Solely at that point the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will achieve closure in their hearts."

Since Hasina's ousting, an caretaker administration under the guidance of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A general election is set for February 2026.

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

The former leader cautioned during the past month that if the party's candidates were banned from standing in the imminent electoral process, millions would boycott the election.

This decision presents a diplomatic challenge for the neighboring countries. Dhaka has formally requested her repatriation but until now India has expressed no readiness to acquiesce.

Her officially designated attorney her legal counsel said he was "sad [and wishes] the outcome had varied".

"I cannot even contest because my clients are absent; for that reason I am disheartened," he stated further.

Recently, her legal team said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN pointing out significant due process and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial together with her previous domestic affairs official and top law enforcement officer.

Although the punishment provides certain resolution to kin of victims in the protests, it may not significantly ease the country's political divisions.

"The fury directed at the former leader and the the former ruling faction has not subsided," a human rights advocate from the capital informed news organizations. "Neither she nor the party has apologised or displayed repentance for the deaths of numerous individuals."

She said "This complicates matters for the faction to gain approval by a bulk of the population in this state."

The advocate continued that the penalty was not resolution for the relatives of those killed and injured.

"We support multiple individuals who lost their limbs forever, they are now disabled, due to the crackdown. They cannot pardon her."

A journalist, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it even more difficult" for the political faction to become a regular participant of Bangladeshi politics again.

This may change if "there is some kind of apology and a disassociation with Sheikh Hasina and the old leadership," he expressed.