🔗 Share this article

Bangladesh's former prime minister has been handed capital punishment for atrocities due to her harsh response on student-led protests which led to her ousting.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of permitting fatal actions to be used against activists, with approximately 1,400 individuals were killed during the unrest during 2024.

Legal proceedings were conducted while she was absent by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being behind hundreds of killings during the protests. The former leader rejected all charges, calling the trial as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The decision signifies a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over years of repression. Relatives of the deceased and wounded had called for tough penalties.

Reacting to the verdict in a comprehensive declaration, Hasina said the capital punishment was the temporary leadership's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a political force and that she was satisfied of her government's record on individual freedoms.

"I have no trepidation to meet my challengers in a proper tribunal where the facts can be assessed and reviewed impartially."

The capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under tightened security prior to the decision on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina staging a rally and celebrating as the judgment was announced.

Dhaka experienced a sudden increase in disturbances, with multiple explosives detonated and public transport vehicles burned in the days leading up to the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, area law enforcement officer the police spokesperson told news organizations.

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

United Nations rights examiners declared in an analysis in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could represent "human rights atrocities".

The study recorded the firing at close quarters of a number of activists, the purposeful disabling of others, arbitrary arrests and mistreatment.

Disclosed sound files of one of Hasina's phone calls verified by external reviews earlier this year indicated she had sanctioned the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the proceedings.

Before the decision, relatives of those killed during the protests told press outlets they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

One relative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for Hasina and others who have "performed revengeful deeds and abused their power".

Another relative, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "executed before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will obtain solace in their souls."

After her departure, an caretaker administration led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A general election is scheduled for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the Awami League, Hasina's political party, was outlawed by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

The former leader cautioned in the previous month that if the her faction's nominees were prohibited from running in the imminent electoral process, millions would boycott the ballot.

The verdict now poses a foreign relations issue for India and Bangladesh. Authorities have sought her repatriation but until now India has shown no willingness to acquiesce.

Her officially designated attorney her legal counsel said he was "disappointed and hoping the outcome had varied".

"I am unable to challenge because my clients are absent; that's why I am sad," he stated further.

The previous week, Hasina's lawyers said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN highlighting serious fair trial and judicial process problems at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial in conjunction with her ex-interior minister and police chief.

Even though the verdict offers some closure to families of killed in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the country's political divisions.

"The fury directed at Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League has not decreased," a Dhaka-based rights activist informed media outlets. "Neither she nor the party has expressed regret or demonstrated contrition for the killings of hundreds of people."

The activist stated "It makes it difficult 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 families of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We work with numerous persons who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are amputees now, due to the crackdown. They will never be able to forgive her."

An analyst, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it even more difficult" for the political faction to become a normal feature of the country's governance system again.

This may change if "an expression of regret occurs and a separation from Sheikh Hasina and the former hierarchy," he stated.