By Obinna Uballa
Bangladesh’s former Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, has been sentenced to death after a special tribunal in Dhaka found her guilty of crimes against humanity linked to the deadly crackdown on student-led protests in 2024.
Reports say the verdict, delivered on Monday under heavy security, marks the most consequential judicial ruling in the country’s recent political history and has triggered fresh unrest across the capital.
Hasina, Bangladesh’s longest-serving leader, was tried in absentia and has been living in exile in India since fleeing the country in August 2024.
The tribunal held her, alongside her former interior minister and ex-police chief, responsible for ordering and enabling the use of lethal force against demonstrators, BBC reported. United Nations estimates suggest up to 1,400 people were killed during the crackdown, most from gunfire by security forces.
The former leader swiftly dismissed the ruling as “biased and politically motivated,” accusing the interim government of seeking to “nullify the Awami League as a political force.” In a five-page statement, Hasina insisted she had been denied a fair hearing and challenged authorities to bring the allegations before the International Criminal Court.
Inside the packed courtroom, the announcement of the death penalty was met with applause, reflecting the seething public anger that has festered since the protests erupted over job quota reforms.
Demonstrations had engulfed Bangladesh last year after students accused the Hasina administration of using the civil service quota for veterans’ descendants as a tool for political patronage.
The interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus hailed the ruling as a “historic verdict,” urging citizens to remain calm. Since Hasina’s ouster, the Awami League has been banned from political activities, and many of its senior leaders have either been arrested or are in exile.
