Bangladesh’s deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina has been sentenced to death in abstentia by a court in Dhaka for crimes against humanity over a deadly crackdown on a student-led uprising last year.
A three-judge bench of the country’s international crimes tribunal convicted Hasina of crimes including incitement, orders to kill, and inaction to prevent atrocities, carried out as she oversaw a crackdown on anti-government protesters last year.
Reading the verdict to the court, Justice Golam Mortuza Mozumder said the “accused prime minister committed crimes against humanity by her order to use drones, helicopters and lethal weapons”.
Hasina had pleaded not guilty to the charges and alleged the tribunal was a “politically motivated charade”.
The months-long tribunal tried and sentenced Hasina in abstentia. Since she fled the country in August last year, Hasina has been living in exile – and under protection – in neighbouring India, and the Indian government has ignored requests for her extradition to face trial.
Family members of killed protesters broke down in tears in the courtroom as judges handed death sentences to Hasina and the former home minister, Asaduzzaman Khan, her co-accused in the trial.
Hasina’s absence from the defendant’s box was stark. In an audio message recorded on before the verdict, Hasina remained defiant. “Let them announce whatever verdict they want. It doesn’t matter to me. Allah gave me this life and only he can end it. I will still serve my people,” she said.
Dhaka was on edge in the run-up to the decision, with security tightened across the capital and police, army and paramilitaries cordoning off the tribunal area. The city’s police issued a “shoot-on-sight” order if someone was found hurling crude bombs or setting fire to vehicles.
On Monday morning, a small explosive was hurled on to the roads close to the court, setting off panic and prompting police to blockade the roads.
The protest that toppled Hasina began as a student movement but escalated into a nationwide uprising, now referred to as the “July revolution”, against Hasina’s authoritarian rule.
Hasina’s 15 years in power were seen as a reign of terror by many in Bangladesh, marred by allegations of corruption, torture and enforced disappearances, which were documented by human rights organisations and the UN.
In response to the unrest, Hasina oversaw a ruthless, state-led crackdown, with documented use of live ammunition against civilians by police and security forces. The UN human rights office estimates up to 1,400 people were killed during the uprising, the worst political violence in Bangladesh since its 1971 independence war.
The prosecution of Hasina has been a core promise made by the interim government, led by the Nobel-laureate Mohammad Yunus, who was appointed to lead the country by protest leaders last year. They appointed Mohammad Tajul Islam as chief prosecutor to build
