Bangladesh's Ousted Leader Sheikh Hasina Wajed Sentenced to Death Penalty

Bangladesh's former prime minister has been handed capital punishment for human rights violations over her severe measures on protests led by students which caused her removal from power.

Hasina was declared culpable of permitting fatal actions to be used against protesters, among whom around 1,400 people were killed during the disturbances during 2024.

Hasina was tried while she was absent by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being behind hundreds of killings during the protests. The former leader rejected every accusation, calling the trial as "biased and politically motivated".

This judgment represents a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over long-standing suppression. Families of those killed and injured had requested strict sentences.

Reacting to the verdict in a comprehensive declaration, she expressed the death penalty was the interim government's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a governing body and that she was content of her government's record on individual freedoms.

"I have no trepidation to meet my challengers in a just legal forum where the facts can be assessed and tested fairly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under tightened security ahead of the ruling on Monday, with several of her detractors staging a rally and applauding as the judgment was announced.

Dhaka experienced a notable rise in turmoil, with dozens of bombs exploded and public transport vehicles burned in the time before the verdict.

One explosive incident was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, regional security representative Jisanul Haque informed press agencies.

The youth-driven revolt last year started with calls to eliminate state employment quotas but morphed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

UN human rights investigators stated in a document in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could represent "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.

Disclosed sound files of a call made by the former leader confirmed by external reviews earlier this year suggested she had approved the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the trial.

Prior to the ruling, family members of those fatally injured in the unrest told press outlets they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

Ramjan Ali, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for her and co-accused who have "committed acts of vengeance and misused their authority".

A different family member, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "executed before the election".

"Solely at that point the families of those killed [in the protests] will find peace in their hearts."

After her departure, an caretaker administration under the guidance of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A general election is planned for February 2026.

However, the Awami League, Hasina's political party, was banned by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

Hasina warned in the previous month that if the the League's representatives were prohibited from running in the imminent electoral process, countless would abstain the election.

The verdict now poses a foreign relations issue for both nations. The Bangladesh government has asked her return 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 decision had been otherwise".

"I cannot even contest because my clients are absent; for that reason I am disheartened," he added.

The previous week, Hasina's lawyers said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN highlighting significant due process and due process issues at the ICT.

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

While the sentence grants partial finality to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may not significantly ease the nation's partisan rifts.

"The anger against Sheikh Hasina and the her political party has not decreased," a human rights advocate from the capital told media outlets. "Both she and the organization has apologised or demonstrated contrition for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The activist stated "This complicates matters for the organization to receive endorsement by a majority of people in this country."

The advocate continued that the sentence was not finality for the families of those killed and injured.

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

A journalist, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it even more difficult" for her party to become a normal feature of the country's governance system again.

This might transform if "a form of contrition emerges and a distancing from Hasina and the old leadership," he said.