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

The country's previous leader has been given a death sentence for human rights violations stemming from her severe measures on youth demonstrations which led to her ousting.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of allowing lethal force to be used against protesters, among whom around 1,400 people were killed during the turmoil last year.

Hasina was tried while she was absent by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being behind numerous deaths during the protests. She has refuted the entire case, calling the trial as "unfair and agenda-driven".

This judgment represents a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over years of repression. Relatives of the deceased and wounded had called for tough penalties.

Responding to the decision in a five-page statement, she expressed the death penalty was the temporary leadership's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a electoral entity and that she was content of her leadership's history on human rights.

"I am not afraid to meet my challengers in a just legal forum where the facts can be assessed and examined justly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under tightened security before the verdict on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina organizing a demonstration and cheering as the judgment was announced.

The city has seen a recent spike in disturbances, with dozens of bombs exploded and coaches ignited in the days leading up to the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, local police official the police spokesperson stated to press agencies.

The student-led uprising during 2024 started with requests to remove government job quotas but transformed into a broader opposition campaign.

International human rights monitors declared in an analysis in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could constitute "human rights atrocities".

The report documented the gunfire from minimal distance of some protesters, the intentional injuring of others, arbitrary arrests and torture.

Disclosed sound files of a call made by the former leader verified by media examinations in previous months implied she had sanctioned the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the proceedings.

Before the decision, kin of those fatally injured in the unrest informed news agencies they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

A family representative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for Hasina and others who have "committed acts of vengeance and exploited their positions".

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

"Exclusively thereafter the kin of victims [in the protests] will achieve closure in their minds."

After her departure, an interim government headed by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A general election is planned for February 2026.

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

The former leader cautioned during the past month that if the the League's representatives were prohibited from running in the upcoming election, numerous would avoid the vote.

This decision presents a international dilemma for India and Bangladesh. The Bangladesh government has asked her repatriation but to date India has shown no willingness to acquiesce.

The legal representative assigned to her the defense lawyer said he was "disappointed and hoping the outcome had varied".

"I cannot even contest because my clients are absent; which is why I am sad," he added.

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

Legal proceedings involved Hasina alongside her previous domestic affairs official and security forces head.

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

"The anger against Sheikh Hasina and the her political party has not diminished," a human rights advocate from the capital told press agencies. "Both she and the organization has apologised or displayed repentance for the deaths of numerous individuals."

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

The advocate continued that the punishment was not finality for the relatives of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We work with numerous persons who lost their limbs forever, they are currently without limbs, 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 particularly hard" for the political faction to become a standard element of Bangladeshi politics again.

This may change if "an expression of regret occurs and a distancing from Sheikh Hasina and the previous administration," he expressed.