Sheikh Hasina: why ousted Bangladesh PM has been sentenced to death

Sheikh Hasina, the former prime minister of Bangladesh, has been sentenced to death for her role in the deadly crackdown on protesters last year.

The months-long trial found that she had ordered the violence against the student-led uprising in 2024, which resulted in more than 1,400 deaths and thousands of injuries.

Hasina, who is in exile in India, faced five charges in absentia, primarily related to inciting the murder of the protesters and including ordering the use of lethal weapons, drones and helicopters to suppress the unrest. She denied the charges.

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Who is Sheikh Hasina?

Hasina is the eldest daughter of the “founding father” of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who was instrumental in the country gaining independence in 1971. She was forced into exile in India in 1975 following the assassination of her father, mother and three brothers in a military coup.

Hasina’s political journey is a “story of tragedy, exile and power, inextricably linked to the history of her home country itself”, said CNN. Having returned to Bangladesh from exile in 1981 to lead her father’s Awami League, she became prime minister in 1996, presiding over “significant economic development” but with “accusations of corruption, democratic backsliding, authoritarianism and human rights abuses”.

Like in her early years, Hasina has been in self-imposed exile in India since 5 August. She was “last photographed pulling suitcases across a military airbase” with her sister Sheikh Rehana before boarding a “military plane bound for Delhi”, said The Times.

Along with her former home minister and police chief, Hasina was convicted by Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal, a court established by her government to try war criminals in the 1971 fight for independence.

Why was she convicted?

Today’s decision was “widely welcomed in Bangladesh, with the courtroom erupting in cheers as the verdict was read”, said Bloomberg.

A report by the UN estimated that 1,400 people were killed in a three-week period of protests between 15 July and 5 August, with “thousands” injured. The “vast majority” were shot by Bangladesh’s security forces. “As many as 12-13%” of those killed were children.

Many people saw Hasina’s 15 years in power in her second term as a “reign of terror”, said The Guardian. Her tenure, as both the longest-serving prime minister (1996–2001 and 2009–2024) and also the longest-serving female leader in the world, was “marred by allegations of corruption, torture and enforced disappearances”.

Following the student protests over civil service job quotas in 2024, she led a “ruthless, state-led crackdown”. This was the “worst political violence in Bangladesh since its 1971 independence war”.

What happens now?

Today’s sentence is “likely to put pressure on the Indian government to extradite Hasina to Bangladesh”, said Bloomberg. There is an extradition agreement between New Delhi and Dhaka. Bangladesh’s interim government “formally requested her return” last year, though Indian officials didn’t respond.

The verdict could “set off a wave of political chaos” in the lead up to Bangladesh’s national elections, expected to take place in February, said CNN.

Hasina’s son and adviser, Sajeeb Wazed, warned that supporters of his mother might block February’s election and protests risk escalating into violence if the current ban on the Awami League is not lifted.