đź”— Share this article Bangladesh's Former Leader Sheikh Hasina Wajed Sentenced to Capital Punishment The former leader was judged by a special court. The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been given a death sentence for crimes against humanity stemming from her harsh response on youth demonstrations which led to her ousting. Hasina was declared culpable of permitting fatal actions to be used against activists, among whom around 1,400 people lost their lives during the disturbances in the previous year. Hasina was tried 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 the mastermind of numerous deaths during the protests. She has refuted all charges, describing the process as "prejudiced and driven by politics". Students clashed with the law enforcement during the 2024 unrest in the capital. This judgment represents a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over long-standing suppression. Families of those killed and harmed had demanded strict sentences. Responding to the decision in a comprehensive declaration, Hasina said the capital punishment was the temporary leadership's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was satisfied of her government's record on civil liberties. "I do not fear to face my accusers in a proper tribunal where the evidence can be weighed and tested fairly." The capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under tightened security ahead of the decision on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina staging a rally and cheering as the verdict was read. The capital witnessed a recent spike in unrest, with multiple explosives detonated and public transport vehicles burned in the period preceding the verdict. A minimum of one detonation was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, area law enforcement officer Jisanul Haque told media outlets. The student-led uprising last year started with demands to abolish government job quotas but morphed into a wider anti-government movement. International human rights monitors declared in an analysis in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could amount to "violations of human dignity". The paper detailed the shooting at point-blank range of a number of activists, the purposeful disabling of additional individuals, arbitrary arrests and mistreatment. Unauthorized recordings of one of Hasina's phone calls confirmed by external reviews during the current year indicated she had sanctioned the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the legal process. Prior to the ruling, relatives of those who died in the demonstrations told news agencies they wanted strict consequences for Hasina. A family representative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for the former leader and associates who have "committed acts of vengeance and abused their power". Another relative, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "carried out before the election". "Exclusively thereafter the families of those killed [in the protests] will find peace in their hearts." Following her removal, an interim government headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A general election is planned for February 2026. Nevertheless, the Awami League, Hasina's political party, was outlawed by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May. She alerted last month that if the party's candidates were banned from standing in the upcoming election, numerous would avoid the election. The verdict now poses a diplomatic challenge for the neighboring countries. Authorities have sought her extradition but so far India has expressed no readiness to comply. 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 represented individuals are away; for that reason I am disappointed," he stated further. The previous week, the defense attorneys said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN raising significant due process and judicial process problems at the ICT. Opposition activists invaded her official home in the capital in last year. Legal proceedings involved Hasina together with her ex-interior minister and top law enforcement officer. While the sentence grants partial finality to kin of victims in the protests, it may not significantly ease the country's political divisions. "The fury directed at Sheikh Hasina and the her political party has not subsided," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka stated to news organizations. "The leader and her faction has apologised or shown any remorse for the deaths of numerous individuals." The activist stated "It makes it difficult for the party to be accepted by a majority of people in this nation." The advocate continued that the punishment was not resolution for the kin of those killed and injured. "We work with multiple individuals who lost their limbs forever, they are now disabled, due to the crackdown. 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 the political faction to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again. This might transform if "there is some kind of apology and a separation from the former leader and the former hierarchy," he stated.