Bangladesh: Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina faces death penalty after trial for crimes against humanity.

Former Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, 78 years old, today in exile in India, was sentenced to death by Dhaka Court for crimes against humanity, linked to the bloody repression of anti-government protests in 2024The historic leader, who led the country for over fifteen consecutive years, was put on trial in absentia and found guilty of incitement, order to kill and failure to prevent atrocities.

The verdict and the charges

The judge Golam Mortuza Mozumder, reading the sentence in the packed courtroom in the capital, said: “we have decided to inflict only one sentence on her, that is, the death penalty.”

The court ruled that during the 2024 student and popular protests, attacks on demonstrators were “widespread and systematic”, configuring crimes against humanityAccording to the judges, Hasina would have ordered the use of drones, helicopters and lethal weapons to repress the riots which, according to various international estimates, caused over 1.400 dead e more than 11.000 arrests all over the country.

The maximum penalty for such crimes is the death sentence, but the decision may be challenged before the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. However, the execution of the sentence is currently impossible, as Hasina is located in exile in India, where she had taken refuge in August 2024 after the protests that led to her resignation.

Hasina's reaction: "A show trial and a political verdict."

From her undisclosed location in India, Sheikh Hasina reacted harshly to the verdict, issuing a statement calling the trial a "judicial farce" and "politically motivated": "The verdicts pronounced against me were delivered by a rigged court, established and presided over by an unelected government with no democratic mandate. The verdict was written in advance."

The former prime minister said she was ready to defend oneself before an international tribunal, declaring: “I am not afraid to face my accusers in a fair courtroom. I have challenged the interim government to bring the charges before the International Criminal Court in The Hague.”

Hasina also denied ever ordering a “premeditated attack against citizens” and reiterated that the 2024 violence was “the result of chaos and loss of control over the situation.”

The sentences of former ministers and officials

Together with the former prime minister, the court has Former Interior Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal also sentenced to death, also a fugitive in India.
The former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, the only one present in the courtroom, was instead sentenced to five years' imprisonment, with a reduction in sentence for his collaboration and for having provided material evidence useful to the trial.

The sentence, transmitted live on national television, was welcomed with applause in the classroom from many of those present.

From protests to the fall of the Hasina government

The demonstrations that led to the fall of Sheikh Hasina's government began in July 2024 as peaceful student protests against the system quotas for public office, considered discriminatory.
Soon, however, the protests spread to large sectors of the population and turned into a mass uprising against government authoritarianism.

Hasina reacted by imposing curfew, school and university closures, and blocking of the Internet and mobile communicationsClashes erupted across the country: police stations, shopping centers, and government buildings were set on fire.
Il August 5, 2024, after the protesters attacked his official residence in Dhaka, Hasina resigned. President Mohammed Shahabuddin dissolved Parliament and commissioned Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Peace Prize winner, to lead a transitional government, which is preparing new elections today.

A controversial legacy

Sheikh Hasina was the longest-serving prime minister in Bangladesh's history: in power from 2009 to 2024, and already prime minister between 1996 and 2001, she is considered one of the most influential figures in South Asia.
During his governments he promoted social policies for women and the poorest, but in recent years has been accused of authoritarianism, censorship and systematic repression of opposition.

International human rights organizations and rapporteurs United Nations they had already reported in 2023 the use of the judicial system as a political tool, reporting hundreds of enforced disappearances and arbitrary detentions of journalists, activists and opponents.

A country torn between justice and revenge

Bangladesh is now experiencing a climate of great political and social tension, a few months before the legislative elections. The authorities have strengthened the military presence and security in Dhaka to prevent further protests.

Hasina accused the transitional government of wanting to “criminalize the Awami League”, the progressive party founded by his father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, And to prevent them from participating in the elections.

India's role and the international dimension

The Indian government, which is hosting the former prime minister, said it had “having taken note of the sentence”, adding in an official statement: “India is committed to safeguarding the best interests of the people of Bangladesh, including peace, democracy, inclusion and stability.”

New Delhi, however, did not mention the request for extradition of Hasina and former minister Kamal from Bangladesh.