Former Bangladesh Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, has been sentenced to death for crimes against humanity. This follows a deadly crackdown on anti-government protests last year.
Sheikh Hasina was sentenced in absentia along with her former interior minister and police chief. They were charged for allowing the use of lethal force against protesters and failing to prevent atrocities against them.
The deposed leader denies all charges following the protests. These ended with Hasina fleeing to India, where she has been living ever since. Her sentencing follows a months-long trial in the country. This trial found her guilty of ordering a deadly crackdown on a student-led uprising last year.
The United Nations said up to 1,400 people may have been killed in the violence. Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s health adviser under the interim government said more than 800 people were killed. About 14,000 were injured in the events.
Paramilitary border guards and police have been deployed in Dhaka and many other parts of the country in the aftermath of the sentencing after Hasina’s Awami League party called for a nationwide shutdown as part of a protest against the verdict.
