🔗 Share this article

Bangladesh's former prime minister has been handed capital punishment for human rights violations stemming from her harsh response on youth demonstrations which caused her forced departure.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of authorizing deadly measures to be used against activists, among whom around 1,400 people died during the turmoil in the previous year.

Hasina was tried without her presence by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being responsible for numerous deaths during the protests. She has refuted all charges, describing the process as "biased and politically motivated".

The decision signifies a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over extended periods of oppression. Relatives of the deceased and injured had demanded severe punishments.

Responding to the decision in a comprehensive declaration, she expressed the execution sentence was the interim government's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a electoral entity and that she was proud of her government's record on individual freedoms.

"I am not afraid to meet my challengers in a proper tribunal where the evidence can be weighed and tested fairly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under increased safeguards before the decision on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics staging a rally and cheering as the sentence was declared.

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

At least one bomb explosion was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, regional security representative Jisanul Haque informed press agencies.

The youth-driven revolt in the previous year started with requests to remove government job quotas but evolved into a more extensive dissent initiative.

United Nations rights examiners stated in a document in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could amount to "violations of human dignity".

The study recorded the gunfire from minimal distance of certain demonstrators, the purposeful disabling of additional individuals, arbitrary arrests and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of one of Hasina's phone calls confirmed by investigative sources during the current year indicated she had sanctioned the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the trial.

Before the decision, family members of those who died in the demonstrations informed press outlets they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

One relative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for the former leader and associates who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and abused their power".

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

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

After her departure, an interim government led by economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A national vote is set for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the her former political organization, Hasina's political party, 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 international dilemma for both nations. Dhaka has formally requested her extradition but so far India has demonstrated no inclination to comply.

Her officially designated attorney Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "sad [and wishes] the decision had been otherwise".

"I cannot even contest because my clients are absent; that's why I am disappointed," he stated further.

The previous week, her legal team said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN raising major judicial fairness and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

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

Although the punishment offers some closure to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may not significantly ease the country's political divisions.

"The fury directed at Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not diminished," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka stated to press agencies. "The leader and her faction has expressed regret or shown any remorse for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The advocate declared "It makes it difficult for the organization to receive endorsement by a bulk of the population in this country."

The advocate continued that the sentence was not resolution for the kin of those killed and injured.

"We work with numerous persons who suffered permanent amputations, they are amputees now, as a result of the harsh measures. They will never be able to forgive her."

An analyst, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it even more difficult" for her party to become a normal feature of the country's governance system again.

This may change if "there is some kind of apology and a distancing from Hasina and the former hierarchy," he expressed.