🔗 Share this article

The country's previous leader has been handed capital punishment for crimes against humanity due to her severe measures on student-led protests which led to her removal from power.

Hasina was declared culpable of authorizing deadly measures to be used against protesters, 1,400 of whom lost their lives during the unrest during 2024.

Legal proceedings were conducted without her presence 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 the mastermind of numerous deaths during the protests. She has refuted the entire case, calling the trial as "biased and politically motivated".

The verdict marks a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over extended periods of oppression. Families of those killed and wounded had demanded tough penalties.

Answering the judgment in a five-page statement, the former leader stated the capital punishment was the temporary leadership's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a political force and that she was content of her administration's performance on civil liberties.

"I do not fear to confront those accusing me in a just legal forum where the evidence can be weighed and reviewed impartially."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under enhanced protection before the decision on Monday, with several of her detractors staging a rally and celebrating as the judgment was announced.

Dhaka experienced a sudden increase in unrest, with multiple explosives detonated and coaches ignited in the time before the verdict.

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

The student-led uprising last year started with calls to eliminate government job quotas but transformed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

United Nations rights examiners said in a report in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could represent "violations of human dignity".

The paper detailed the firing at close quarters of some protesters, the deliberate maiming of others, arbitrary arrests and torture.

Disclosed sound files of a call made by the former leader verified by investigative sources in previous months indicated she had sanctioned the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the legal process.

Ahead of the verdict, kin of those fatally injured in the unrest stated to media representatives they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

A family representative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for her and co-accused who have "performed revengeful deeds and exploited their positions".

Another relative, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "carried out before the election".

"Solely at that point the kin of victims [in the protests] will achieve closure in their minds."

Following her removal, an interim government under the guidance of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A general election is planned for February 2026.

However, the her former political organization, her political faction, was banned by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

The former leader cautioned during the past month that if the the League's representatives were prohibited from running in the imminent electoral process, numerous would avoid the vote.

The judgment creates a international dilemma for the neighboring countries. The Bangladesh government has asked her return but until now India has shown no willingness to acquiesce.

Her officially designated attorney the defense lawyer said he was "disappointed and hoping the outcome had varied".

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

Last week, her legal team said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN raising serious fair trial and due process issues at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina alongside her former home minister and top law enforcement officer.

Although the punishment provides certain resolution to kin of victims in the protests, it may not significantly ease the state's ideological splits.

"The anger against Sheikh Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not subsided," a Dhaka-based rights activist stated to media outlets. "The leader and her faction has said sorry or shown any remorse for the killings of hundreds of people."

The advocate declared "This complicates matters 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 families of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We work with several people who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are amputees now, as a result of the harsh measures. 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 the country's governance system again.

This could alter if "an expression of regret occurs and a separation from Sheikh Hasina and the old leadership," he stated.