Sheikh Hasina, former Prime Minister of Bangladesh
The Bangladeshi court found former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina guilty of crimes against humanity related to the repression of protests led by students in July and August 2024, and sentenced the former ruler “to a single penalty, the death penalty”.
The Bangladesh International Crimes Court on Monday sentenced the former prime minister Sheikh Hasina to death, after being found guilty of ordering the repression of the riots that caused her downfall in 2024, in which at least 1,400 people diedmost of them civilians, according to the UN.
“All the constituent elements of a crime against humanity are gathered”, declared the judge Golam Mortuza Mozumdercited by the AFP agency.
“We decided to a single penalty, the death penalty“, added the magistrate. Hasina, 78 years old, has always denied the accusations and was tried in absentia. In August 2024 fled by helicopter to Indiawhere she is exiled.
After the sentence, the Bangladesh Ministry of Foreign Affairs demanded that the Indian government to “immediately” extradite Hasina and his former Interior Minister, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, also sentenced to death and a refugee in that country.
The Indian government limited itself to responding that it had “taken note verdict pronounced” against former leader.
Judges found the former prime minister guilty of several charges relating to crimes against humanityin particular for inciting and ordering murders, according to the verdict.
After the sentence, Hasina, who ruled the country “with an iron fist” for 15 years, stated that the verdict had “political motivations“.
“The sentences handed down against me were dictated by a manipulated courtestablished and presided over by an unelected government and without a democratic mandate”, declared the former ruler in a statement cited by AFP.
The Dhaka court’s decision was long awaited in the country, with more than 170 million inhabitants, which is preparing for the upcoming legislative elections within three months.
The head of the interim government and Nobel Peace Prize winner in 2006, Muhammad Yunuscelebrated the court ruling as “a historic verdict“.
Known critic of Hasina and considered the “banker to the poor” who founded the world’s first microfinance bank, Yunus took office in August 2024 to .
At the time, they played a decisive role in the fall of Hasina’s government and their leaders stood by the idea of having a military leader lead the government.
