 "Bangladesh's ICT has convicted ousted PM Sheikh Hasina and her former home minister for their alleged role in violent suppression of the 2024 protests. Hasina has been sentenced to death. File image/AFP")
One year ago, in August, former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled Bangladesh and sought refuge in India following violent demonstrations that were spurred on by angry students. Now on Monday (November 17), the veteran leader has been found guilty and sentenced to death for committing crimes against humanity.
The ruling is the most dramatic legal action against a former Bangladeshi leader in decades and comes months ahead of parliamentary elections expected to be held in early February.
As the court read out its verdict, there were contrasting reactions. On one side, the prosecution and families of those who died in the violence in July and August 2024 celebrated the moment with exuberance and happiness. On the other hand, the Hasina camp exhibited defiance in the face of the verdict. The 78-year-old former PM said, “The verdicts announced against me have been made by a rigged tribunal established and presided over by an unelected government with no democratic mandate.
“They are biased and politically motivated.”
Catch all the live updates from Sheikh Hasina’s verdict
We deep dive into what was the case against Hasina, what the courts noted and what does this mean for Hasina’s future.
What was the case against Sheikh Hasina?
The verdict against Sheikh Hasina is a result of the crimes of humanity case filed against her, former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, and ex-police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun following her exit from the country. It relates to the brutal crackdown during the anti-discrimination student movement last July and August.
There are five charges against the former Bangladeshi PM, which are:
1) Murder, attempted murder, torture, and other inhumane acts
Hasina and her co-defendants were accused of abetting, inciting, facilitating, being complicit in, and failing to prevent these crimes committed against civilians by law enforcement and armed cadres of the Awami League and its affiliates.
The charge specifies that Hasina and the other officials abetted, assisted, and were complicit in the severe and systematic attack on innocent, unarmed student masses.
2) Orders to use lethal force, helicopters and drones
Hasina was accused of directing the use of helicopters, drones and live ammunition to suppress the protests. According to Dhaka Tribune, the prosecution claims that Kamal and Mamun passed on and executed these instructions via the security chain of command. These actions, they argue, amount to crimes against humanity by way of superior orders, aiding and conspiracy.
3) Murder of Abu Sayeed in Rangpur
On July 16 last year, law enforcement officers fired multiple rounds at close range into the chest of student protester Abu Sayed without provocation. Prosecutors assert that this killing was carried out on the basis of directives from the top political and security leadership, implicating Hasina, Kamal and Mamun in ordering, assisting and conspiring in the attack.
4) Killing of six unarmed protesters in Dhaka’s Chankharpul
Hasina and the two others were charged with the deaths of six students in the Chankharpul area of Dhaka on August 5, 2024. The prosecution contends that the operation was carried out with their knowledge and under their command, according to Dhaka Tribune.
5) Killing and burning of six men in Ashulia
Also on August 5, 2024 six people were shot in Ashulia; five bodies were burned, and the sixth, still alive, was allegedly burned alongside them. Prosecutors say the killings were executed with the knowledge, involvement and approval of the now convicted.
What did the court say in their verdict?
On Monday (November 17), a three-member bench of the ICT, headed by Justice Golam Mortuza Mojumdar, found Hasina and the others guilty of crimes against humanity, concluding a months-long trial following her ouster last year. The court further noted that Hasina deserves maximum punishment in the matter.
In the judgment, which is 453 pages long, the ICT noted that Hasina, the former home minister, and the ex-police chief acted jointly to kill and suppress the protesters. Moreover, she ordered the use of helicopters and lethal weapons in the killing of the protesters. This has been established through a conversation of Hasina with the South Dhaka municipal corporation mayor.
Hasina has also been found to have ordered the killing of protesting students, noted the chief ICT judge, adding that the records of conversation with the Dhaka University VC are present. Furthermore, the judge said that the former PM used the “abusive Razakar ” term for Dhaka University students.
The tribunal stated that Sheikh Hasina made hate speeches and, in a phone conversation with an aide named Shakeel, asked him to kill 226 people linked to cases filed against her. The judge ordered Hasina to immediately stop making such hate-filled statements. The court emphasised that her remarks were both contemptuous and incitements to violence.
In the killing of Abu Sayed, the court found that the Hasina government had threatened the doctor, saying there was an intelligence report against them, forcing him to alter the autopsy. The doctor was also threatened with persecution if he did not change his name.
In reading out its verdict, the ICT noted that all the evidence presented in court “seemed genuine”, with the videos, photos and audios presented seeming not to have been altered or generated by artificial intelligence.
The ICT judge said that Hasina had superior control over the former home minister and police chief, adding she didn’t take any punitive action against perpetrators of violence against the protesters.
On the sentencing end, the ICT has sentenced Hasina to death over the violence and killings during the July-August 2024 agitation. Meanwhile, the top cop Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun has been spared the death sentence and awarded a five-year jail term after he turned a state witness in the matter.
What are the reactions to Hasina verdict?
Following the guilty verdict, the Muhammad Yunus government noted that the trial was not politically motivated, a charge levelled by the former Bangladeshi PM and her supporters. A spokesperson for the Yunus government stated that the court “functioned transparently, allowing observers and publishing regular documentation”.
“Today is an important day for Bangladesh,” said Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami leader Mia Golam Parwar, remembering the sacrifice of the martyrs of July agitation of 2024 and paid tribute to them.
However, Hasina was of a different opinion altogether. Even before the ICT could deliver its verdict, she noted that it was a “farce” by a “kangaroo court” and that she did not issue any orders that she’s been accused of. “I’m not denying that the situation got out of control, nor that many lives were lost needlessly. But I never issued any order to fire on unarmed civilians.”
Meanwhile, the huge crowds that had gathered outside Dhanmondi 32 , the home of the ousted prime minister’s father, were dispersed by the authorities, who used stun grenades. Earlier, a sizeable group had gathered there along with bulldozers, but officials were able to push them back.
In court as the judges announced the death sentence for Hasina, applause erupted as families of the protestors killed last year erupted in joy.
What comes next for Hasina?
The death sentence against Hasina marks perhaps the lowest chapter in her life story. She holds the honour of being Bangladesh’s longest-serving prime minister, first rising to prominence as a pro-democracy figure in the 1980s when she joined opposition parties against military rule. But in the later years, her government was accused of extra-judicial killings, enforced disappearances and suppressing dissent.
Living in India since her ouster from power last year, it is unclear what happens, but her son, Sajeeb Wazed, said that the family and party was prepared to hear “death sentence”. In his remarks before the verdict, Wazed said that nothing would happen to his mother since “she is in India and is safe there”.
People in Hasina’s camp has also reportedly dismissed the verdict, insisting the former Bangladesh PM will fight the ruling and eventually return to power, signalling a political struggle ahead. They further claimed that there is no evidence on record, and warned that the country is being pushed towards complete radicalisation.
Hasina was quoted as telling Reuters that she was not “given a fair chance to defend” herself in court. She adds that the verdict “reveals brazen intent of the extremists”.
Mohibul Hassan Chowdhury, a former minister in the Sheikh Hasina Cabinet, told News18, “It’s a plot to exlude Hasina and carry out one-sided elections. We reject this verdict we need to protest against this verdict.”
Meanwhile, the Bangladesh prosecution stated that they would do all in their power to ensure Hasina’s return. “Bangladesh would take all possible legal measures to address the matter,” said the prosecution when asked about Hasina’s stay in India.
There are fears that Hasina’s supporters will resort to violence in Bangladesh, plunging the nation further into chaos.
With inputs from agencies