🔗 Share this article

The country's previous leader has been given a death sentence for human rights violations over her severe measures on youth demonstrations which led to her forced departure.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of allowing lethal force to be used against protesters, with approximately 1,400 individuals died during the disturbances in the previous year.

Hasina was tried while she was absent 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 hundreds of killings during the protests. Hasina has denied all charges, labeling the proceedings as "biased and politically motivated".

The decision signifies a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over years of repression. Next of kin of victims and injured had requested strict sentences.

Answering the judgment in a detailed document, she expressed the death penalty was the temporary leadership's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a governing body and that she was satisfied of her government's record on individual freedoms.

"I have no trepidation to confront those accusing me in a proper tribunal where the proof can be evaluated and examined justly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under tightened security prior to the verdict on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics holding a protest and cheering as the verdict was read.

The capital witnessed a recent spike in disturbances, with dozens of bombs exploded and public transport vehicles burned in the period preceding the verdict.

One explosive incident was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, regional security representative the authorities' representative told press agencies.

The youth-driven revolt last year commenced through demands to abolish state employment quotas but transformed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

United Nations rights examiners said in a report in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could represent "human rights atrocities".

The report documented the gunfire from minimal distance of some protesters, the deliberate maiming of additional individuals, unjustified apprehensions and mistreatment.

Disclosed sound files of a call made by the former leader verified by investigative sources in previous months implied she had approved the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the trial.

Before the decision, kin of those who died in the demonstrations informed press outlets they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

A family representative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for Hasina and others 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 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."

Since Hasina's ousting, an temporary leadership under the guidance of economist Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A general election is planned for February 2026.

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

She alerted in the previous 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 international dilemma for both nations. The Bangladesh government has asked her return but so far India has demonstrated no inclination to acquiesce.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer her legal counsel said he was "unhappy and desiring the verdict had been different".

"I cannot even contest because my clients are absent; for that reason I am disappointed," he continued.

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

The former leader faced trial alongside her former home minister and police chief.

Although the punishment provides certain resolution to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the country's political divisions.

"The resentment towards Sheikh Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not diminished," a Dhaka-based rights activist informed news organizations. "The leader and her faction has said sorry or shown any remorse for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The activist stated "This creates challenges for the party to be accepted by a majority of people in this country."

The activist added that the sentence was not finality for the kin of those killed and injured.

"We work with multiple individuals who suffered permanent amputations, they are currently without limbs, as a result of the harsh measures. They are incapable of excusing her."

David Bergman, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a regular participant of the country's governance system again.

This could alter if "a form of contrition emerges and a distancing from the former leader and the old leadership," he stated.