🔗 Share this article

Bangladesh's former prime minister has been handed capital punishment for human rights violations over her severe measures on protests led by students which resulted in her ousting.

Hasina was declared culpable of permitting fatal actions to be used against demonstrators, 1,400 of whom lost their lives during the disturbances last year.

Legal proceedings were conducted in absentia by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being the mastermind of numerous deaths during the protests. The former leader rejected all charges, labeling the proceedings as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The verdict marks a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over extended periods of oppression. Relatives of the deceased and wounded had demanded strict sentences.

Answering the judgment in a detailed document, she expressed the execution sentence was the temporary leadership's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was satisfied of her government's record on human rights.

"I do not fear to meet my challengers in a just legal forum where the evidence can be weighed and tested fairly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under increased safeguards before the decision on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina staging a rally and cheering as the verdict was read.

Dhaka experienced a sudden increase in unrest, with multiple explosives detonated and buses set on fire in the period preceding the verdict.

One explosive incident was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, regional security representative the authorities' representative told press agencies.

The student-led uprising during 2024 began with demands to abolish government job quotas but morphed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

UN human rights investigators stated in a document in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could represent "violations of human dignity".

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

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader verified by external reviews earlier this year suggested she had authorized the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the proceedings.

Prior to the ruling, family members of those killed during the protests informed news agencies they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

One relative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for her and co-accused who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and exploited their positions".

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

"Exclusively thereafter the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will find peace in their souls."

After her departure, an interim government led by economist Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A parliamentary election is planned for February 2026.

However, the her former political organization, her political faction, was prohibited by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

She alerted during the past month that if the her faction's nominees were barred from participating in the imminent electoral process, numerous would avoid the ballot.

This decision presents a foreign relations issue for India and Bangladesh. Authorities have sought her repatriation but to date India has expressed no readiness to agree.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "sad [and wishes] the verdict had been different".

"I cannot even contest because my defendants are not present; that's why I am disheartened," he added.

Last week, Hasina's lawyers said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN pointing out serious fair trial and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial in conjunction with her previous domestic affairs official and top law enforcement officer.

While the sentence grants partial finality to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may do little to soothe the state's ideological splits.

"The anger against Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League has not diminished," a Dhaka-based rights activist told press agencies. "Neither she nor the party has said sorry or shown any remorse for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The activist stated "It makes it difficult for the faction to gain approval by a most citizens in this country."

The activist added that the punishment was not finality for the families of those who died and were wounded.

"We assist multiple individuals who suffered permanent amputations, they are now disabled, due to the crackdown. They cannot pardon her."

An analyst, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a normal feature of the nation's political landscape again.

This could alter if "there is some kind of apology and a distancing from the former leader and the previous administration," he expressed.