🔗 Share this article

The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been given a death sentence for human rights violations due to her severe measures on student-led protests which caused her forced departure.

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

The trial proceeded in absentia by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being behind multiple fatalities during the protests. Hasina has denied the entire case, describing the process as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The decision signifies a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over long-standing suppression. Families of those killed and harmed had requested tough penalties.

Reacting to the verdict in a five-page statement, she expressed the death penalty was the interim government's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a governing body and that she was proud of her government's record on human rights.

"I have no trepidation to confront those accusing me in a just legal forum where the proof can be evaluated and tested fairly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under tightened security prior to the ruling on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics staging a rally and celebrating as the judgment was announced.

The city has seen a sudden increase in unrest, with multiple explosives detonated and coaches ignited in the period preceding the verdict.

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

The youth-driven revolt in the previous year started with calls to eliminate government job quotas but morphed into a broader opposition campaign.

United Nations rights examiners declared in an analysis in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could represent "human rights atrocities".

The study recorded the firing at close quarters of a number of activists, the purposeful disabling of further participants, unjustified apprehensions and torture.

Disclosed sound files of a telephone conversation involving Hasina verified by media examinations earlier this year indicated she had approved the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the proceedings.

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

A family representative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for the former leader and associates who have "committed acts of vengeance and misused their authority".

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 families of those killed [in the protests] will obtain solace in their hearts."

After her departure, an temporary leadership under the guidance of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A general election is planned for February 2026.

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

She alerted during the past month that if the the League's representatives were barred from participating in the upcoming election, countless would abstain the ballot.

The judgment creates a foreign relations issue for the neighboring countries. Dhaka has formally requested her extradition but so far India has demonstrated no inclination to comply.

The legal representative assigned to her the defense lawyer said he was "disappointed and hoping the outcome had varied".

"I even cannot appeal because my clients are absent; for that reason I am disappointed," he stated further.

Last week, Hasina's lawyers said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN pointing out significant due process and due process issues at the ICT.

Hasina was tried in conjunction with her ex-interior minister and police chief.

While the sentence provides certain resolution to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may not significantly ease the nation's partisan rifts.

"The fury directed at the former leader and the Awami League has not diminished," a human rights advocate from the capital stated to media outlets. "The leader and her faction has expressed regret or shown any remorse for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The advocate declared "This creates challenges for the party to be accepted by a bulk of the population in this nation."

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

"We assist numerous persons who suffered permanent amputations, they are now disabled, as a result of the harsh measures. They are incapable of excusing her."

An analyst, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it increasingly challenging" for the political faction to become a standard element of the nation's political landscape again.

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