The former prime minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, has been condemned to death for her role in the crimes against humanity.
Last year, a special tribunal determined that she was to blame for the brutal suppression of student-led protests. The United Nations believes that up to 1,400 people perished, with the majority of casualties being caused by gunshot fired by security forces.
Since Hasina has been in exile in India since being forcibly removed from power, her trial was conducted in her absence.
Hasina was found guilty of numerous heinous crimes by a three-judge panel of the country’s international crimes tribunal.
The accused prime minister “committed crimes against humanity by her order to use drones, helicopters and lethal weapons,” Justice Golam Mortuza Mozumder read aloud in her verdict.
The trial, Hasina said, was a “politically motivated charade,” and she had pleaded not guilty.
Monday morning saw heightened security measures around Bangladesh as a result of concerns about potential protests. In a courtroom in Dhaka, relatives of individuals slain in the 2024 revolt wept uncontrollably.
Her co-defendant in the trial, the former minister of the home, Asaduzzaman Khan, was also sentenced to death.
A death sentence has been handed down to Sheikh Hasina, the former prime minister of Bangladesh, on charges of crimes against humanity.
In an audio statement recorded before the verdict, Hasina remained defiant even though she was not physically present at the trial.
They are free to proclaim any verdict they like. To be honest, I could care less. The only one who can take my life away from me is Allah. She vowed to continue serving her people.
Paramilitaries cordoned off the tribunal area and police were warned to “shoot-on-sight” if anyone was seen setting fire to vehicles or using explosives in the run-up to the historic ruling, demonstrating the heightened vigilance in the Bangladeshi capital.
The student movement that later became known as the “July revolution” was the catalyst for the widespread revolt that toppled Hasina’s autocratic regime.
Numerous human rights organizations and the United Nations found evidence of her involvement in corruption, torture, and enforced disappearances over her fifteen years in office, leading many in Bangladesh to perceive her rule as a terrifying dictatorship.
This story is developing rapidly. Things will be elaborated upon later. ( Story culled from The Daily Mail UK)
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