🔗 Share this article

Bangladesh's former prime minister has been handed capital punishment for human rights violations due to her harsh response on student-led protests which led to her removal from power.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of allowing lethal force to be used against protesters, with approximately 1,400 individuals were killed during the unrest during 2024.

Legal proceedings were conducted while she was absent by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being the mastermind of multiple fatalities during the protests. She has refuted all charges, labeling the proceedings as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The decision signifies a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over extended periods of oppression. Families of those killed and harmed had called for tough penalties.

Answering the judgment in a comprehensive declaration, the former leader stated the execution sentence was the temporary leadership's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a political force and that she was proud of her administration's performance on civil liberties.

"I am not afraid to face my accusers in a proper tribunal where the facts can be assessed and tested fairly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under enhanced protection before the verdict on Monday, with several of her detractors staging a rally and cheering as the judgment was announced.

The capital witnessed a recent spike in turmoil, with dozens of bombs exploded and buses set on fire in the days leading up to the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, local police official Jisanul Haque stated to press agencies.

The student-led uprising during 2024 started with requests to remove public sector reservation policies but transformed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

United Nations rights examiners declared in an analysis in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could amount to "crimes against humanity".

The report documented the shooting at point-blank range of some protesters, the deliberate maiming of further participants, unjustified apprehensions and abuse.

Disclosed sound files of a call made by the former leader confirmed by external reviews during the current year implied she had sanctioned the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the proceedings.

Prior to the ruling, family members of those who died in the demonstrations told press outlets they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

A family representative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for the former leader and associates who have "committed acts of vengeance and abused their power".

Another relative, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "executed before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the kin of victims [in the protests] will obtain solace in their souls."

Following her removal, an temporary leadership led by economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A parliamentary election is set for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the Awami League, her political faction, was prohibited by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

Hasina warned last month that if the party's candidates were barred from participating in the forthcoming vote, countless would abstain the vote.

The judgment creates a foreign relations issue for the neighboring countries. Dhaka has formally requested her repatriation but so far India has expressed no readiness to acquiesce.

Her officially designated attorney Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "disappointed and hoping the verdict had been different".

"I am unable to challenge because my clients are absent; that's why I am disappointed," he continued.

Recently, her legal team said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN pointing out significant due process and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Hasina was tried together with her former home minister and top law enforcement officer.

Although the punishment provides certain resolution to families of killed in the protests, it may do little to soothe the country's political divisions.

"The resentment towards Hasina and the Awami League has not diminished," a Dhaka-based rights activist stated to news organizations. "The leader and her faction has expressed regret or demonstrated contrition for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The activist stated "This creates challenges for the organization to receive endorsement by a most citizens in this country."

The activist added that the punishment was not closure for the relatives of those who died and were wounded.

"We work with several people who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are amputees now, because of the suppression. 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 increasingly challenging" for her party to become a regular participant of the country's governance system again.

This may change if "there is some kind of apology and a separation from the former leader and the old leadership," he said.