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Bangladeshi Court Sentences Exiled Ex-PM Sheikh Hasina to Death Amid Political Tensions
Bangladesh sentences exiled former PM Sheikh Hasina to death for 2024 protest crackdown. Families demand execution; supporters warn of unrest ahead of February elections.
MH
by Muhammad Hashir
2025-11-18
Bangladeshi Court Sentences Exiled Ex-PM Sheikh Hasina to Death Amid Political Tensions

A Bangladeshi court has sentenced exiled former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to death, deepening political divisions and leaving the nation on edge ahead of upcoming elections. The ruling stems from her alleged role in last year’s bloody crackdown on student-led protests that the UN says killed up to 1,400 people.

The decision drew cheers from families of protest victims, some of whom demanded Hasina’s immediate execution. “True justice will come only when the hangman’s rope tightens around her neck,” said Abdur Rab, who lost his son in the protests.

Hasina, who ruled Bangladesh for two decades, fled to India last year and called the verdict politically motivated, blaming a tribunal “presided over by an unelected government with no democratic mandate.” Efforts to extradite her from India have so far stalled, straining bilateral ties. Bangladesh’s government warned that failure to return her would be “a highly unfriendly gesture and an affront to justice.”

Political violence has surged in Dhaka in recent weeks. Ahead of the verdict, crude bombs exploded, buses were torched, and activists from Hasina’s Awami League party were detained over alleged sabotage. Hasina’s son and adviser, Sajeeb Wazed, warned of “massive protests” and electoral blockades if the party remains banned.

Analysts say the ruling, combined with the Awami League ban, risks destabilizing the country of 170 million and could disrupt the economy, including garment exports that fuel Bangladesh’s growth and a $4.7 billion IMF bailout.

The interim government, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus and student representatives, has prioritized stability and dialogue to prevent further violence, while maintaining that the party’s ban is a legal measure in response to last year’s unrest.

For victims like Aman Ullah, 24, who lost his sight in the protests, justice is personal. “I cannot see anymore, but the day I hear she has been hanged will be a celebration greater than Eid,” he said.

The upcoming February elections are seen as a critical test for Bangladesh’s democracy, with the Awami League’s arch-rival, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, expected to gain power if political tensions remain unresolved.
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Bangladesh

HumanRights

PoliticalCrisis

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