Bangladesh's Deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Given to Death Penalty

Bangladesh's former prime minister has been given a death sentence for crimes against humanity due to her severe measures on protests led by students which resulted in her removal from power.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of allowing lethal force to be used against protesters, among whom around 1,400 people lost their lives during the disturbances during 2024.

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

Legal authorities charged her of being responsible for numerous deaths during the protests. Hasina has denied every accusation, labeling the proceedings as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

This judgment represents a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over extended periods of oppression. Families of those killed and wounded had demanded strict sentences.

Reacting to the verdict in a comprehensive declaration, she expressed the execution sentence was the interim government's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was satisfied of her government's record on individual freedoms.

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

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under tightened security before the decision on Monday, with several of her detractors organizing a demonstration and cheering as the judgment was announced.

The city has seen a sudden increase in disturbances, with numerous incendiary devices set off and coaches ignited in the period preceding the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, local police official the authorities' representative told media outlets.

The protest movement led by students in the previous year started with demands to abolish state employment quotas but transformed into a broader opposition campaign.

International human rights monitors said in a report in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could represent "human rights atrocities".

The study recorded the firing at close quarters of some protesters, the purposeful disabling of others, unjustified apprehensions and torture.

Disclosed sound files of one of Hasina's phone calls confirmed by investigative sources in previous months indicated she had authorized the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the proceedings.

Prior to the ruling, relatives of those killed during the protests told media representatives they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

One relative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for Hasina and others who have "committed acts of vengeance and exploited their positions".

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

"Only then the kin of victims [in the protests] will achieve closure in their minds."

Following her removal, an interim government under the guidance of economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A general election is planned for February 2026.

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

Hasina warned in the previous month that if the the League's representatives were prohibited from running in the imminent electoral process, numerous would avoid the vote.

This decision presents a foreign relations issue for the neighboring countries. The Bangladesh government has asked her repatriation but until now India has demonstrated no inclination to acquiesce.

The legal representative assigned to her her legal counsel said he was "sad [and wishes] the decision had been otherwise".

"I am unable to challenge because my clients are absent; that's why I am disappointed," he continued.

Last week, Hasina's lawyers said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN raising serious fair trial and due process issues at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina together with her ex-interior minister and security forces head.

Even though the verdict 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 Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not subsided," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka told press agencies. "The leader and her faction has said sorry or displayed repentance for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The activist stated "This creates challenges for the faction to gain approval by a majority of people in this state."

The activist added that the sentence was not closure for the kin of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We support numerous persons who lost their limbs forever, they are amputees now, due to the crackdown. They will never be able to forgive her."

David Bergman, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it even more difficult" for the political faction to become a standard element of the country's governance system again.

This might transform if "there is some kind of apology and a separation from the former leader and the former hierarchy," he said.