Bangladesh's Ousted Leader Sheikh Hasina Wajed Given to Capital Punishment

The country's previous leader has been given a death sentence for atrocities over her crackdown on student-led protests which resulted in her forced departure.

Hasina was declared culpable of permitting fatal actions to be used against activists, 1,400 of whom were killed during the unrest during 2024.

The trial proceeded while she was absent by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being responsible for hundreds of killings during the protests. She has refuted every accusation, calling the trial as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

This judgment represents a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over long-standing suppression. Relatives of the deceased and harmed had called for severe punishments.

Responding to the decision in a five-page statement, the former leader stated the execution sentence was the caretaker administration's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a political force and that she was content of her government's record on individual freedoms.

"I am not afraid to confront those accusing me in a fair court where the evidence can be weighed and tested fairly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under tightened security prior to the verdict on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina staging a rally and applauding as the judgment was announced.

The city has seen a sudden increase in unrest, with multiple explosives detonated and public transport vehicles burned in the time before the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, area law enforcement officer the authorities' representative told media outlets.

The protest movement led by students during 2024 started with demands to abolish state employment quotas but transformed into a wider anti-government movement.

United Nations rights examiners declared in an analysis in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could amount to "human rights atrocities".

The study recorded the firing at close quarters of certain demonstrators, the intentional injuring of others, unwarranted detentions and torture.

Leaked audio of a call made by the former leader verified by external reviews in previous months implied she had approved the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the trial.

Prior to the ruling, relatives of those killed during the protests stated to press outlets they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

Ramjan Ali, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for Hasina and others who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and misused their authority".

Lucky Akther, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "implemented before the election".

"Solely at that point the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will obtain solace in their hearts."

Since Hasina's ousting, an interim government under the guidance of economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A general election is set for February 2026.

However, the her former political organization, her political faction, was banned by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

She alerted last month that if the party's candidates were banned from standing in the imminent electoral process, numerous would avoid the election.

The verdict now poses a foreign relations issue for the neighboring countries. Dhaka has formally requested her repatriation but to date India has demonstrated no inclination to agree.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer the defense lawyer said he was "unhappy and desiring the decision had been otherwise".

"I even cannot appeal because my represented individuals are away; which is why I am sad," he stated further.

Last week, Hasina's lawyers said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN highlighting major judicial fairness and due process issues at the ICT.

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

Even though the verdict offers some closure to kin of victims in the protests, it may not significantly ease the state's ideological splits.

"The anger against the former leader and the Awami League has not decreased," a human rights advocate from the capital told news organizations. "The leader and her faction has said sorry or shown any remorse for the deaths of numerous individuals."

She said "This complicates matters for the party to be accepted by a majority of people in this country."

The campaigner further stated that the sentence was not finality for the relatives of those killed and injured.

"We work with several people who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are amputees now, because of the suppression. They are incapable of excusing her."

An analyst, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it even more difficult" for her party to become a regular participant of the nation's political landscape again.

This may change if "an expression of regret occurs and a separation from Hasina and the old leadership," he expressed.