🔗 Share this article Bangladesh's Deposed Leader Sheikh Hasina Wajed Given to Death The former leader was judged by a special court. The country's previous leader has been sentenced to death for atrocities over her crackdown on youth demonstrations which caused her ousting. The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of permitting fatal actions to be used against activists, among whom around 1,400 people died during the disturbances in the previous year. The trial proceeded without her presence by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024. The prosecution alleged of being responsible for hundreds of killings during the protests. She has refuted the entire case, labeling the proceedings as "biased and politically motivated". Youths confronted the law enforcement during the demonstrations in 2024 in Bangladesh's main city. The verdict marks a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over long-standing suppression. Next of kin of victims and wounded had called for severe punishments. Reacting to the verdict in a detailed document, she expressed the capital punishment was the caretaker administration's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a political force and that she was proud of her leadership's history on human rights. "I am not afraid to confront those accusing me in a just legal forum where the evidence can be weighed and tested fairly." The capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under increased safeguards before the decision on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina holding a protest and celebrating as the verdict was read. The capital witnessed a recent spike in turmoil, with multiple explosives detonated and coaches ignited in the time before the verdict. At least one bomb explosion was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, local police official Jisanul Haque stated to news organizations. The protest movement led by students during 2024 started with calls to eliminate state employment quotas but morphed into a wider anti-government movement. United Nations rights examiners said in a report in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could amount to "crimes against humanity". The study recorded the gunfire from minimal distance of certain demonstrators, the deliberate maiming of others, unjustified apprehensions and mistreatment. Disclosed sound files of a telephone conversation involving Hasina confirmed by external reviews in previous months implied she had authorized the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the trial. Before the decision, family members of those who died in the demonstrations told press outlets they wanted Hasina to be punished severely. One relative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for her and co-accused who have "performed revengeful deeds and misused their authority". Lucky Akther, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "executed before the election". "Solely at that point the families of those killed [in the protests] will obtain solace in their hearts." Since Hasina's ousting, an interim government under the guidance of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A national vote is scheduled for February 2026. Nevertheless, the Awami League, the former ruling party, was banned by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May. The former leader cautioned last month that if the party's candidates were banned from standing in the upcoming election, numerous would avoid the vote. This decision presents a international dilemma for both nations. Dhaka has formally requested her return but so far India has demonstrated no inclination to comply. Her officially designated attorney her legal counsel said he was "unhappy and desiring the decision had been otherwise". "I cannot even contest because my defendants are not present; for that reason I am disheartened," he continued. Recently, Hasina's lawyers said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN raising major judicial fairness and due process issues at the ICT. Anti-government protesters invaded her official home in Bangladesh's main city in last year. Hasina was tried alongside her previous domestic affairs official and security forces head. Even though the verdict grants partial finality to families of killed in the protests, it may do little to soothe the country's political divisions. "The fury directed at Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League has not subsided," a Dhaka-based rights activist stated to news organizations. "The leader and her faction has apologised or displayed repentance for the deaths of numerous individuals." She said "This creates challenges for the faction to gain approval by a most citizens in this nation." The campaigner further stated that the punishment was not finality for the families of those killed and injured. "We assist several people who suffered permanent amputations, they are now disabled, as a result of the harsh measures. They are incapable of excusing her." A journalist, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it even more difficult" for her party to become a regular participant of the nation's political landscape again. This might transform if "there is some kind of apology and a disassociation with the former leader and the old leadership," he said.