🔗 Share this article

The country's previous leader has been handed capital punishment for crimes against humanity over her crackdown on youth demonstrations which resulted in her removal from power.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of allowing lethal force to be used against protesters, among whom around 1,400 people lost their lives during the unrest last year.

Legal proceedings were conducted in absentia by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being the mastermind of hundreds of killings during the protests. She has refuted all charges, labeling the proceedings as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

This judgment represents a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over years of repression. Relatives of the deceased and harmed had demanded severe punishments.

Responding to the decision in a detailed document, she expressed the death penalty was the interim government's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was satisfied of her administration's performance on human rights.

"I am not afraid to meet my challengers in a proper tribunal where the facts can be assessed and reviewed impartially."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under increased safeguards prior to the decision on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics holding a protest and celebrating as the verdict was read.

The capital witnessed a notable rise in turmoil, with multiple explosives detonated and public transport vehicles burned in the time before the verdict.

One explosive incident was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, local police official the authorities' representative told press agencies.

The youth-driven revolt in the previous year started with requests to remove government job quotas but evolved into a broader opposition campaign.

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

The paper detailed the gunfire from minimal distance of a number of activists, the intentional injuring of further participants, unjustified apprehensions and abuse.

Leaked audio of one of Hasina's phone calls confirmed by media examinations during the current year suggested she had approved the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the legal process.

Before the decision, relatives of those fatally injured in the unrest informed news agencies they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

A family representative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for her and co-accused who have "committed acts of vengeance and abused their power".

A different family member, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "carried out before the election".

"Only then the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will achieve closure in their hearts."

Since Hasina's ousting, an interim government led by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A general election is set for February 2026.

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

She alerted in the previous month that if the the League's representatives were barred from participating in the imminent electoral process, countless would abstain the election.

The verdict now poses a diplomatic challenge for both nations. Dhaka has formally requested her extradition but so far India has expressed no readiness to agree.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "sad [and wishes] the verdict had been different".

"I cannot even contest because my represented individuals are away; that's why I am disappointed," he added.

The previous week, her legal team said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN pointing out major judicial fairness and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina alongside her previous domestic affairs official and police chief.

Although the punishment offers some closure to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may do little to soothe the country's political divisions.

"The resentment towards Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not subsided," a human rights advocate from the capital informed media outlets. "The leader and her faction has apologised or demonstrated contrition for the killings of hundreds of people."

The activist stated "This creates challenges for the party to be accepted by a most citizens in this country."

The advocate continued that the sentence was not closure for the families of those killed and injured.

"We support multiple individuals who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are amputees now, as a result of the harsh measures. They cannot pardon her."

A journalist, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it increasingly challenging" for the political faction to become a standard element of the country's governance system again.

This could alter if "a form of contrition emerges and a separation from Sheikh Hasina and the former hierarchy," he stated.