🔗 Share this article

Bangladesh's former prime minister has been handed capital punishment for crimes against humanity over her harsh response on youth demonstrations which caused her forced departure.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of allowing lethal force to be used against activists, 1,400 of whom lost their lives during the turmoil last year.

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

The prosecution alleged of being responsible for multiple fatalities during the protests. The former leader rejected every accusation, labeling the proceedings as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The verdict marks a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over extended periods of oppression. Next of kin of victims and wounded had demanded tough penalties.

Answering the judgment in a detailed document, she expressed the capital punishment was the caretaker administration's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was content of her administration's performance on human rights.

"I am not afraid to face my accusers in a just legal forum where the proof can be evaluated and tested fairly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under enhanced protection ahead of the decision on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics holding a protest and cheering as the judgment was announced.

The city has seen a recent spike in disturbances, with multiple explosives detonated and coaches ignited in the days leading up to the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, local police official Jisanul Haque told press agencies.

The youth-driven revolt last year commenced through calls to eliminate government job quotas but transformed into a broader opposition campaign.

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

The report documented the shooting at point-blank range of a number of activists, the deliberate maiming of further participants, arbitrary arrests and torture.

Leaked audio of a telephone conversation involving Hasina authenticated by external reviews earlier this year indicated she had approved the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the trial.

Prior to the ruling, family members of those fatally injured in the unrest informed media representatives they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

One relative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for Hasina and others who have "committed acts of vengeance and misused their authority".

A different family member, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "implemented before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the kin of victims [in the protests] will achieve closure in their minds."

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

However, the Awami League, Hasina's political party, was prohibited by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

She alerted during the past month that if the her faction's nominees were prohibited from running in the forthcoming vote, numerous would avoid the vote.

The verdict now poses a international dilemma for the neighboring countries. Dhaka has formally requested her repatriation but to date India has shown no willingness to agree.

Her officially designated attorney Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "unhappy and desiring the decision had been otherwise".

"I even cannot appeal because my represented individuals are away; for that reason I am disheartened," he continued.

Last week, the defense attorneys said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN highlighting major judicial fairness and judicial process problems at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial alongside her ex-interior minister and police chief.

Even though the verdict provides certain resolution to kin of victims in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the country's political divisions.

"The resentment towards Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not subsided," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka informed press agencies. "The leader and her faction has apologised or demonstrated contrition for the killings of hundreds of people."

She said "This creates challenges for the faction to gain approval by a most citizens in this country."

The campaigner further stated that the punishment was not resolution for the kin of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

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

A journalist, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it increasingly challenging" for her party to become a regular participant of Bangladeshi politics again.

This could alter if "a form of contrition emerges and a distancing from the former leader and the previous administration," he said.