Sheikh Hasina rejects death sentence, says ‘we lost control of the situation’

A special tribunal on Monday sentenced Bangladesh’s deposed prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, to death after convicting her of crimes against humanity tied to last year’s student uprising, which left hundreds dead and ultimately ended her 15-year tenure.

Reacting to the verdict, Hasina said that she “acted in good faith and were trying to minimize the loss of life.” In a statement released, she added that they “lost control of the situation,” and said portraying the unrest as a “premeditated assault on citizens is simply to misread the facts.”

The ruling came as the country continues to struggle with political turmoil following Hasina’s removal from office on Aug. 5, 2024. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus assumed leadership of an interim administration three days later. Yunus has pledged to pursue legal action against Hasina and has barred activities of her Awami League party.

The verdict was delivered by a three-judge panel led by Justice Golam Mortuza Mozumder, with the proceedings broadcast live nationwide.

Hasina rejected the tribunal’s findings, calling the judgment “biased and politically motivated.” She dismissed the court as “rigged” and claimed it had been “established and presided over by an unelected government with no democratic mandate.”

She further argued that, in seeking the death penalty, authorities were showing the “brazen and murderous intent of extremist figures within the interim government to remove Bangladesh’s last elected prime minister, and to nullify the Awami League as a political force.”