Sheikh Hasina Death Sentence News: Bangladesh ex-PM Sheikh Hasina on Monday said that she was given no fair chance to defend herself in court, according to Reuters. This comes after a Bangladesh court sentenced Hasina to death for crimes against humanity on Monday, concluding a months-long trial that found her guilty of ordering a deadly crackdown on a student-led uprising last year.
The ruling comes months ahead of parliamentary elections expected to be held in early February. The maximum punishment under the law that governs the tribunal is the death penalty.
Hasina’s Awami League party has been barred from contesting and it is feared that Monday’s verdict could stoke fresh unrest ahead of the vote.
The International Crimes Tribunal, Bangladesh’s domestic war crimes court located in the capital Dhaka, delivered the guilty verdict amid tight security and in Hasina’s absence after she fled to India in August 2024.
The verdict can be appealed in the Supreme Court.
But Hasina’s son and adviser, Sajeeb Wazed, told Reuters on the eve of the verdict that they would not appeal unless a democratically elected government took office with the Awami League’s participation.
During the trial, prosecutors told the court that they had uncovered evidence of her direct command to use lethal force to suppress a student-led uprising in July and August 2024.
With inputs from Reuters
ALSO READ: Sheikh Hasina Verdict: Bangladesh Court Sentences Ex-PM Hasina To Death For Crimes Against Humanity