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

The country's previous leader has been sentenced to death for crimes against humanity over her harsh response on student-led protests which led to her ousting.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of authorizing deadly measures to be used against protesters, with approximately 1,400 individuals died during the turmoil in the previous year.

Legal proceedings were conducted while she was absent by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being behind hundreds of killings during the protests. She has refuted the entire case, labeling the proceedings as "biased and politically motivated".

This judgment represents a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over extended periods of oppression. Next of kin of victims and wounded had requested severe punishments.

Reacting to the verdict in a comprehensive declaration, she expressed the execution sentence was the interim government's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was content of her administration's performance on civil liberties.

"I do not fear to face my accusers in a fair court where the facts can be assessed and reviewed impartially."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under tightened security prior to the verdict on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics holding a protest and celebrating as the judgment was announced.

The capital witnessed a notable rise in turmoil, with multiple explosives detonated and public transport vehicles burned in the time before the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, local police official Jisanul Haque stated to media outlets.

The youth-driven revolt last year started with calls to eliminate state employment quotas but morphed into a broader opposition campaign.

International human rights monitors stated in a document in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could amount to "crimes against humanity".

The paper detailed the gunfire from minimal distance of some protesters, the purposeful disabling of further participants, unjustified apprehensions and mistreatment.

Leaked audio of a call made by the former leader verified by investigative sources in previous months implied she had sanctioned the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the trial.

Before the decision, family members of those killed during the protests told media representatives they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

Ramjan Ali, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for the former leader and associates who have "committed acts of vengeance and exploited their positions".

Another relative, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "carried out before the election".

"Solely at that point the families of those killed [in the protests] will achieve closure in their minds."

Following her removal, an temporary leadership led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A parliamentary election is set for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the Hasina's political party, the former ruling party, was prohibited by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

Hasina warned during the past month that if the her faction's nominees were barred from participating in the forthcoming vote, millions would boycott the ballot.

This decision presents a international dilemma for India and Bangladesh. Dhaka has formally requested her extradition but until now India has shown no willingness to comply.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "sad [and wishes] the outcome had varied".

"I cannot even contest because my clients are absent; that's why I am disheartened," he added.

The previous week, the defense attorneys said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN raising major judicial fairness and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina alongside her former home minister and top law enforcement officer.

Although the punishment offers some closure to families of killed in the protests, it may not significantly ease the nation's partisan rifts.

"The fury directed at Sheikh Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not subsided," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka told press agencies. "Both she and the organization has said sorry or shown any remorse for the deaths of numerous individuals."

She said "This creates challenges for the faction to gain approval by a majority of people in this state."

The advocate continued that the sentence was not finality for the families of those who died and were wounded.

"We support multiple individuals who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are now disabled, as a result of the harsh measures. They are incapable of excusing her."

David Bergman, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a regular participant of the nation's political landscape again.

This might transform if "a form of contrition emerges and a disassociation with Hasina and the previous administration," he said.