Tribunal Sentences Bangladesh's Former Leader To Death

Tribunal Sentences Bangladesh’s Former Leader To Death

Bangladesh’s former prime minister has been sentenced to death for crimes against humanity stemming from her crackdown on student-led rallies, which led to her ouster.

Sheikh Hasina was convicted of enabling fatal force to be used against protesters, 1,400 of whom perished during the upheaval last year.

Hasina, who has been exiled in India since being driven out of power in July 2024, was tried in absentia by Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT).

Prosecutors accused her of orchestrating hundreds of deaths during the riots. Hasina has disputed all charges, claiming the trial was “biased and politically motivated”.

The verdict is a watershed moment for Bangladesh, as the protests sparked outrage over years of brutality. Families of those slain and injured had demanded harsher sanctions.

In response to the verdict, Hasina stated that the death sentence was the interim government’s method of “nullifying [her party], the Awami League as a political force” and that she was proud of her government’s human rights record.

“I am not afraid to face my accusers in a proper tribunal where the evidence can be weighed and tested fairly.”

The capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal was held, was under heavy security ahead of the ruling on Monday, with many of Hasina’s detractors staging a gathering and cheering as it was announced.

The city has recently seen an increase in violence, with dozens of explosives detonated and buses set on fire in the days preceding the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, local police official Jisanul Haque told the BBC.

Last year’s student-led uprising began with demands to eliminate government job quotas but quickly expanded into a larger anti-government movement.

UN human rights investigators warned in a report in February that the nearly 1,400 killings could amount to “crimes against humanity”.

The study detailed the shooting of some demonstrators at point-blank range, the intentional maiming of others, arbitrary arrests, and torture.

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Leaked audio from one of Hasina’s phone calls, confirmed by BBC Eye earlier this year, revealed she had authorized the deployment of “lethal weapons” in July 2024. The recording was aired in court during the trial.

David Bergman, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the “very nature of the conviction could make it even more difficult” for the Awami League to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.

This may change if “there is some kind of apology and a distancing from Sheikh Hasina and the old leadership”, he said.

Tribunal Sentences Bangladesh’s Former Leader To Death