🔗 Share this article

The country's previous leader has been sentenced to death for human rights violations stemming from her harsh response on protests led by students which caused her removal from power.

Hasina was declared culpable of allowing lethal force to be used against activists, 1,400 of whom died during the disturbances last year.

Hasina was tried while she was absent by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being behind hundreds of killings during the protests. She has refuted every accusation, calling the trial as "biased and politically motivated".

This judgment represents a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over long-standing suppression. Next of kin of victims and injured had demanded severe punishments.

Answering the judgment in a five-page statement, she expressed the execution sentence was the temporary leadership's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a governing body and that she was content of her leadership's history on individual freedoms.

"I do not fear to confront those accusing me in a just legal forum where the proof can be evaluated and examined justly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under enhanced protection prior to the decision on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina holding a protest and applauding as the judgment was announced.

Dhaka experienced a recent spike in turmoil, with multiple explosives detonated 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, local police official Jisanul Haque stated to news organizations.

The protest movement led by students during 2024 commenced through requests to remove state employment quotas but morphed 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 study recorded the firing at close quarters of a number of activists, the purposeful disabling of others, unjustified apprehensions and mistreatment.

Disclosed sound files of one of Hasina's phone calls verified by media examinations earlier this year suggested she had approved the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the trial.

Prior to the ruling, kin of those fatally injured in the unrest stated to news agencies they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

One relative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for her and co-accused who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and abused their power".

Another relative, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "implemented before the election".

"Only then the kin of victims [in the protests] will obtain solace in their souls."

Following her removal, an caretaker administration headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A parliamentary election is set for February 2026.

However, the her former political organization, Hasina's political party, was prohibited by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

Hasina warned during the past month that if the her faction's nominees were prohibited from running in the forthcoming vote, millions would boycott the election.

This decision presents a diplomatic challenge for both nations. Dhaka has formally requested her repatriation but so far India has shown no willingness to comply.

Her officially designated attorney the defense lawyer said he was "unhappy and desiring the decision had been otherwise".

"I even cannot appeal because my clients are absent; that's why I am disheartened," he stated further.

Last week, her legal team said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN raising significant due process and due process issues at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina together with her ex-interior minister and police chief.

While the sentence grants partial finality to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the country's political divisions.

"The fury directed at the former leader and the the former ruling faction has not subsided," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka informed press agencies. "Neither she nor the party has expressed regret or shown any remorse for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The activist stated "It makes it difficult for the organization to receive endorsement by a most citizens in this country."

The advocate continued that the punishment was not finality for the relatives 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 will never be able to forgive her."

A journalist, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it increasingly challenging" for the political faction to become a normal feature of the country's governance system again.

This could alter if "an expression of regret occurs and a distancing from the former leader and the previous administration," he said.