A Bangladeshi court sentenced former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to death for crimes against humanity in the violent repression of protests sparked by students that led to her ouster in the summer of 2024. In reaction, Sheikh Hasina considered that “the motivations (of the sentence) are political” and that the trial was “a farce”.
“All the elements that constitute crimes against humanity are present. We have decided to impose only one sentence: the death penalty,” said Golam Mortuza Mozumder, judge at the Dhaka court, this Monday. In court, the families of the dead protesters welcomed the sentence with applause and tears in their eyes, reports the international press.
The conviction, in absentia, by a collective of three judges from the country’s criminal court refers to crimes such as incitement to violence, orders to kill unarmed civilians and failure to provide assistance during the anti-government demonstrations that were triggered by students, but which gained national scope and were repressed with “drones, helicopters and lethal weapons”, after Hasina called the protesters “terrorists”. Former interior minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, on the run, was also sentenced to death.
“Default” verdict
In a statement, Sheikh Hasina, 78, has already challenged the legitimacy of the court that sentenced her: “The sentences announced against me were decided by an illegal court, appointed and presided over by a Government that was not elected and has no democratic mandate”, she stated. “This guilty verdict was predetermined. I am not afraid to face my accusers in an impartial court where the evidence can be viewed honestly,” she added.
Previously, in statements to the media, the former prime minister considered “all accusations unfounded”. The recordings presented by the prosecutor’s office, suggesting that it had authorized the use of “lethal weapons” against the protesters, were “taken out of context”, he stated, anticipating that the guilty verdict was already “predetermined” in a process “clearly politically motivated”.
Students call for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s resignation on August 4
MONIRUL ALAM/EPA
Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India in August 2024 after 15 years in power, was being tried in absentia since June and has always denied the accusations, but the court found her guilty of the repression of anti-government protests in July and August last year in which more than 1,400 people diedmost of them civilians, and 25,000 were injured, according to the United Nations. India, where she went into exile, ignored all extradition requests made by Bangladesh for Hasina to be present in court.
More accusations
In a country that lives under political tension and has legislative elections within three months, the decision was eagerly awaited and the sentence led to the reinforcement of security measures: The police in the capital were placed on high alert.
Sheikh Hasina’s party, the Awami League, won the last legislative elections, in early 2024, but was deposed by the current interim government of Bangladesh, led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus. In the next elections, the Awami League is prevented from running and authorities fear more unrest in the streets before the vote.
Sheikh Hasina is also the target of numerous reports of various murders and kidnappings throughout their mandates, by their political opponents and non-governmental organizations, and faces a corruption case. According to an investigation by a commission of inquiry, his government ordered the disappearance of more than 250 members of the opposition.
Daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, leader of national independence and the country’s first President, Hasina went into exile with her sister after the military coup that killed her parents and three brothers in 1975, having returned to Bangladesh in 1981 to preside over the Awami League. She became prime minister for the first time in 1986, returned to power in 2008 and led the longest leadership in the country’s history, amid attacks and accusations of stifling the opposition, controlling institutions and allowing widespread abuses by security forces.