🔗 Share this article

Bangladesh's former prime minister has been handed capital punishment for human rights violations stemming from her crackdown on protests led by students which led to her forced departure.

Hasina was declared culpable of allowing lethal force to be used against protesters, among whom around 1,400 people were killed during the unrest during 2024.

Legal proceedings were conducted in absentia by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being the mastermind of multiple fatalities during the protests. Hasina has denied all charges, calling the trial as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The decision signifies a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over extended periods of oppression. Next of kin of victims and harmed had demanded tough penalties.

Answering the judgment in a comprehensive declaration, she expressed the death penalty was the caretaker administration's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was satisfied of her leadership's history on civil liberties.

"I have no trepidation to face my accusers in a just legal forum where the proof can be evaluated and reviewed impartially."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under increased safeguards before the verdict on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina organizing a demonstration and cheering as the judgment was announced.

Dhaka experienced a notable rise in unrest, with dozens of bombs exploded and buses set on fire in the days leading up to the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, area law enforcement officer the authorities' representative informed news organizations.

The student-led uprising last year commenced through calls to eliminate state employment quotas but transformed into a wider anti-government movement.

International human rights monitors said in a report in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could amount to "human rights atrocities".

The paper detailed the gunfire from minimal distance of some protesters, the deliberate maiming of others, arbitrary arrests and torture.

Leaked audio of one of Hasina's phone calls confirmed by investigative sources in previous months indicated she had authorized the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the legal process.

Before the decision, family members of those fatally injured in the unrest informed news agencies they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

One relative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for Hasina and others who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and exploited their positions".

A different family member, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "carried out before the election".

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

Since Hasina's ousting, an temporary leadership under the guidance of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A parliamentary election is scheduled for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the her former political organization, her political faction, was prohibited by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

She alerted last month that if the party's candidates were banned from standing in the imminent electoral process, millions would boycott the vote.

The judgment creates a international dilemma for both nations. The Bangladesh government has asked her repatriation but to date India has expressed no readiness to comply.

The legal representative assigned to her Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "sad [and wishes] the decision had been otherwise".

"I even cannot appeal because my defendants are not present; which is why I am disheartened," he continued.

Recently, her legal team said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN highlighting significant due process and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina in conjunction with her ex-interior minister and top law enforcement officer.

Even though the verdict offers some closure to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may do little to soothe the state's ideological splits.

"The resentment towards the former leader and the Awami League has not decreased," a human rights advocate from the capital informed news organizations. "Neither she nor the party has said sorry or shown any remorse for the killings of hundreds of people."

She said "It makes it difficult for the faction to gain approval by a bulk of the population in this state."

The campaigner further stated that the penalty was not closure for the families of those killed and injured.

"We support numerous persons who lost their limbs forever, they are now disabled, due to the crackdown. They will never be able to forgive her."

An analyst, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it even more difficult" for the political faction to become a regular participant of the nation's political landscape again.

This could alter if "there is some kind of apology and a separation from Sheikh Hasina and the old leadership," he expressed.