Fast facts: Who is Sheikh Hasina, the ex-Bangladesh PM sentenced to death?
A Bangladeshi tribunal on Monday sentenced former prime minister Sheikh Hasina to death for crimes against humanity, including ordering lethal force against protesters during the 2024 student uprising that toppled her government.
The verdict was delivered in absentia, as Hasina fled to India following the protests. She denies any wrongdoing and India, her close ally, is unlikely to extradite her.
Here’s what you should know about Hasina:
Beginnings
- Born September 28, 1947, as the eldest child of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladesh’s founding father.
- She survived a 1975 assassination of her family while abroad. Her sister, Sheikh Rehana, also survived.
- She studied at the University of Dhaka and was active in student politics from a young age.
Political career
- She was the Bangladeshi prime minister from 1996 to 2001, 2009 to 2014 and 2014 to 2024. She won a disputed 2024 election for a possible fourth term
- She led the opposition in between terms and opposed military-backed caretaker governments.
- Her Awami League (AL) has been in power since 2008. Under her leadership, the party secured landslide majorities.
Struggles and exile
- She lived in India in the 1980s. Despite this, she was still elected president of the Awami League while in exile.
- She forged a temporary alliance with her rival, Khaleda Zia, in 1990 to topple military dictator Hussain Ershad.
- She was arrested and jailed by the army-backed interim government in 2007 but was later released to contest elections.
- She survived a 2004 grenade attack that killed more than 20 people.
- Her campaigns have been known for having tight security, even to the point where she delivers her speeches behind bulletproof glass or via video link.
Sentenced to death
- She was sentenced to death in absentia for ordering lethal force against protesters in the 2024 uprising.
- Interim PM Muhammad Yunus’s government pledged accountability for the “July Revolution.”
- According to the United Nations, the protests that resulted in Hasina's ouster left as many as 1,400 people dead in just 46 days.
The ruling marks a dramatic turn in Bangladesh’s politics. Hasina, a three-time prime minister and daughter of the country’s founding father, has been a central figure in Bangladesh for decades, credited with major economic and social reforms.
The tribunal’s decision fulfills a promise by interim Prime Minister Muhammad Yunus to hold former leaders accountable for the “July Revolution,” which began peacefully but turned violent after government suppression.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
