Sheikh Hasina, the ousted Prime Minister of Bangladesh, has been found guilty of carrying out crimes against humanity over the violent suppression of student protests that led to the collapse of her government and forced her to flee to India in August last year.
Prosecutors have sought the death penalty over the charges. The court is still in session, with her sentence expected to be delivered shortly.
A panel of three judges from the International Crimes Tribunal, Bangladesh’s domestic war crimes court, delivered their verdict Monday, ruling that Hasina was responsible for inciting hundreds of extrajudicial killings carried out by law enforcement.
About 1,400 protestors are believed to have been killed and up to 25,000 injured during the weeks of protests in 2024, the court heard.
Hasina faced five charges primarily related to inciting the murder of the protestors, ordering protestors be hanged, and ordering the use of lethal weapons, drones and helicopters to suppress the unrest. She denies the charges.
Hasina was not present at the court in Dhaka as she remains in self-imposed exile. The trial was criticized by her lawyers who last week submitted an appeal to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions over “serious concerns about the lack of fair trial rights and due process.”
The former leader ruled the South Asian nation with an iron-fist from 2009 until her ouster in 2024 and it’s feared Monday’s verdict could set off a wave of political chaos ahead of national elections expected in February next year.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
