🔗 Share this article

Bangladesh's former prime minister has been handed capital punishment for atrocities over her harsh response on protests led by students which led to her forced departure.

Hasina was declared culpable of allowing lethal force to be used against demonstrators, with approximately 1,400 individuals were killed during the unrest in the previous year.

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.

The prosecution alleged of being behind multiple fatalities during the protests. The former leader rejected the entire case, labeling the proceedings as "biased and politically motivated".

The decision signifies a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over long-standing suppression. Next of kin of victims and harmed had called for tough penalties.

Answering the judgment in a detailed document, Hasina said the death penalty was the interim government's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a governing body and that she was content of her administration's performance on civil liberties.

"I do not fear to confront those accusing me in a proper tribunal where the facts can be assessed and reviewed impartially."

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

Dhaka experienced a notable rise in unrest, with multiple explosives detonated and buses set on fire in the days leading up to the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, area law enforcement officer the police spokesperson informed news organizations.

The protest movement led by students during 2024 commenced through requests to remove state employment quotas but transformed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

International human rights monitors said in a report in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could constitute "human rights atrocities".

The paper detailed the gunfire from minimal distance of a number of activists, the intentional injuring of further participants, unwarranted detentions and mistreatment.

Leaked audio of a call made by the former leader authenticated by investigative sources in previous months implied she had authorized the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the legal process.

Ahead of the verdict, family members of those who died in the demonstrations told press outlets 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 "engaged in retaliatory actions and misused their authority".

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

"Exclusively thereafter the kin of victims [in the protests] will obtain solace in their hearts."

Since Hasina's ousting, an interim government led by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A parliamentary election is set for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the Awami League, her political faction, was prohibited by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

She alerted last month that if the party's candidates were banned from standing in the forthcoming vote, millions would boycott the vote.

This decision presents a foreign relations issue for the neighboring countries. The Bangladesh government has asked her repatriation but so far India has shown no willingness to agree.

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

"I even cannot appeal because my clients are absent; that's why I am disappointed," he added.

Recently, her legal team said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN raising serious fair trial and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

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

Even though the verdict provides certain resolution to families of killed in the protests, it may not significantly ease the state's ideological splits.

"The resentment towards the former leader and the Awami League has not diminished," a human rights advocate from the capital stated to media outlets. "Both she and the organization has apologised or displayed repentance for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The advocate declared "This complicates matters for the party to be accepted by a most citizens in this country."

The activist added that the punishment was not finality for the kin of those killed and injured.

"We assist numerous persons who lost their limbs forever, they are amputees now, because of the suppression. 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 regular participant of the country's governance system again.

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