🔗 Share this article

The country's previous leader has been handed capital punishment for human rights violations stemming from her severe measures on protests led by students which resulted in her removal from power.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of permitting fatal actions to be used against activists, among whom around 1,400 people were killed during the disturbances in the previous year.

Hasina was tried 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 the entire case, labeling the proceedings as "unfair and agenda-driven".

This judgment represents a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over long-standing suppression. Families of those killed and wounded had called for tough penalties.

Responding to the decision in a detailed document, Hasina said the death penalty was the interim government's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a electoral entity and that she was satisfied of her government's record on human rights.

"I am not afraid to confront those accusing me in a just legal forum where the evidence can be weighed and tested fairly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under enhanced protection before the verdict on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics staging a rally and celebrating as the sentence was declared.

The capital witnessed a notable rise in disturbances, with dozens of bombs exploded and public transport vehicles burned in the time before the verdict.

One explosive incident was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, area law enforcement officer Jisanul Haque told media outlets.

The student-led uprising last year began with demands to abolish government job quotas but morphed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

United Nations rights examiners stated in a document in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could constitute "violations of human dignity".

The paper detailed the shooting at point-blank range of certain demonstrators, the purposeful disabling of others, arbitrary arrests and abuse.

Disclosed sound files of a telephone conversation involving Hasina authenticated by media examinations in previous months indicated she had approved the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the trial.

Prior to the ruling, family members of those killed during the protests stated to media representatives they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

A family representative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for Hasina and others who have "performed revengeful deeds and misused their authority".

A different family member, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "executed before the election".

"Only then the families of those killed [in the protests] will find peace in their hearts."

Following her removal, an temporary leadership under the guidance of economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A general election is scheduled for February 2026.

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

She alerted in the previous month that if the party's candidates were banned from standing in the upcoming election, numerous would avoid the vote.

This decision presents a international dilemma for both nations. Dhaka has formally requested her extradition but until now India has demonstrated no inclination to comply.

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

"I am unable to challenge because my defendants are not present; for that reason I am disappointed," he continued.

The previous week, her legal team said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN highlighting serious fair trial and judicial process problems at the ICT.

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

Although the punishment offers some closure to families of killed in the protests, it may do little to soothe the state's ideological splits.

"The resentment towards Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not subsided," a human rights advocate from the capital stated to news organizations. "The leader and her faction has expressed regret or displayed repentance for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The activist stated "It makes it difficult for the party to be accepted by a most citizens in this state."

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

"We work with several people who suffered permanent amputations, they are currently without limbs, due to the crackdown. They are incapable of excusing her."

David Bergman, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it particularly hard" for her party to become a regular participant of the nation's political landscape again.

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