CNN: Sheikh Hasina, the ousted Prime Minister of Bangladesh, has been sentenced to death after being found guilty of crimes against humanity for the violent suppression of student protests last year that led to the collapse of her government.
A panel of three judges from the International Crimes Tribunal, Bangladesh’s domestic war crimes court, delivered their verdict Monday, ruling that Hasina was responsible for inciting hundreds of extrajudicial killings carried out by law enforcement.
The courtroom, where some victims’ families were present, burst into applause as the judges delivered their sentence.
“Sheikh Hasina committed crimes against humanity by her incitement, order and failure to take punitive measures,” one of the judge said as he delivered her verdict.
It was “crystal clear” that she “expressed her incitement to the activists of her party… and furthermore, she expressed that she ordered to kill and eliminate the protesting students,” the judges said.
About 1,400 protestors are believed to have been killed and up to 25,000 injured during the weeks of protests in 2024, the court heard.
Hasina faced five charges primarily related to inciting the murder of the protestors, ordering protestors be hanged, and ordering the use of lethal weapons, drones and helicopters to suppress the unrest. She denies the charges.
Hasina remains in self-imposed exile in India, where she fled last year, and was not present at the court in Dhaka. The trial was criticized by her lawyers who last week submitted an appeal to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions over “serious concerns about the lack of fair trial rights and due process.”
The former leader ruled the South Asian nation with an iron-fist from 2009 until her ouster in 2024 and it’s feared Monday’s verdict could set off a wave of political chaos ahead of national elections expected in February next year.
What began as peaceful student protests over civil service job quotas last year transformed into a nationwide push for Hasina’s resignation. The turning point was a government crackdown that may have killed up to 1,400 people, according to the UN human rights office.
Hasina has been living in India’s capital New Delhi since August last year, after student protesters forced her and her Awami League political party out of power. The interim Bangladeshi government has formally requested her extradition but New Delhi has so far remained silent on the request.
