Bangladesh’s ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been sentenced to death after a tribunal found her guilty of crimes against humanity linked to last year’s deadly student protest crackdown.
Bangladesh’s ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been sentenced to death after being found guilty of crimes against humanity for the violent suppression of student protests that led to her government’s collapse, according to a report from CNN.
The International Crimes Tribunal, Bangladesh’s domestic war crimes court, delivered the verdict on Monday, ruling she incited hundreds of extrajudicial killings by security forces.
The judgment stated it was “crystal clear” that Hasina “expressed her incitement” and ordered the killing of protesting students. The crackdown, sparked by demonstrations over civil service job quotas, reportedly left up to 1,400 dead and 25,000 injured, the court heard.
Hasina, who denies the charges, faced five counts tied to inciting murder and authorizing the use of lethal weapons, drones, and helicopters against protesters. She has lived in self-imposed exile in New Delhi since August last year and was not present during the trial. Her lawyers criticized the proceedings and petitioned the UN Special Rapporteur over alleged violations of fair-trial rights.
Security in Dhaka tightened ahead of the verdict as fresh violence broke out. The interim government, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, insists the trials are key to restoring public trust, while Hasina’s supporters call the case politically motivated.