By Abigail Holliday
Copy Editor
The former Prime minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, has been sentenced to death on Nov. 17 for her decision to use lethal force on student protestors, causing the death of almost 1,500 people.
Hasina was sentenced on five counts of crimes against humanity by using lethal force against student protestors, killing 1,400 and injuring 25,000 people. This “crackdown” is now being referred to in Bangladesh as the "July Uprising.”
Protests began in June of 2024 when students began to peacefully disagree with Hasina’s decision to reintroduce an unfair quota system that reserved jobs for veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s war of independence in 1971 and their families, according to Al Jazeera.
The “July Uprising” truly began when Abu Sayed, a student protestor, was shot dead on July 16 by police. According to Al Jazeera, this is when the whole nation responded and protests escalated.
Former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah al-Mamun was sentenced to only five years in jail in the same trial because he had “turned a state witness,” meaning he would testify against Hasina for a more lenient sentencing, according to Al Jazeera.
Hasina’s aide, former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, has also been found responsible for the crimes against the students. Both Hasina and Khan fled to India in August 2024, where they remain, putting an end to Hasina’s 15 year rule over Bangladesh, according to PBS.
Al Jazeera Investigative Unit (I-Unit) has obtained access to Hasina’s recorded phone calls from the National Telecommunications Monitoring Centre (NTMC). One call on July 18 to an ally shows her allowing security forces to use “lethal weapons” on student protestors objecting to her rule.
The phone call, assured clear from any AI use or manipulation by the I-Unit, reads, “My instructions have already been given. I’ve issued an open order completely. Now they will use lethal weapons, shoot wherever they find them. That has been instructed. I have stopped them so far… I was thinking about the students’ safety.”
Shabir Sharif, a doctor at the Popular Medical College Hospital in Dhaka, reported that shots were being fired from a helicopter aiming directly for the hospital entrance, as reported by the I-Unit team from Al Jazeera.
Hasina and Khan were sentenced to death by hanging by three judges from the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), Bangladesh’s court dedicated to domestic war crimes, according to CNN. India has not yet cooperated and hand over the two criminals, prolonging their sentences, according to PBS.
After the court decision was made, families of the students shouted and applauded in joy, getting the vengeance they felt was deserved after how their children were treated.
After the verdict, which Hasina called “biased and politically motivated” was named, she released a statement saying that herself and Khan “acted in good faith and were trying to minimize the loss of life.”
She said, “We lost control of the situation, but to characterize what happened as a premeditated assault on citizens is simply to misread the facts.”
