World Media Buzzes over Sheikh Hasina's Death Sentence

The International Crimes Tribunal-1 has sentenced former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted through a mass uprising, to death. International media outlets have given significant coverage to the verdict. From major Western news organisations to media in India and other South Asian countries, the story appeared as a leading headline on Monday.

The British news outlet BBC published a report titled: “Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina sentenced to death for crimes against humanity over brutal protest crackdown.” The report stated that a Bangladesh tribunal sentenced the former prime minister to death over allegations of harshly suppressing anti-government protests last year. As Hasina has been living in exile in India, the trial was held in her absence.

US-based CNN reported: “Bangladesh’s deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been handed a death sentence.” The report said she was convicted of crimes against humanity for ordering a crackdown on student protests last year. It also noted that Bangladesh’s domestically established war crimes court — a three-judge panel of the International Crimes Tribunal — delivered the verdict on Monday, concluding that Hasina was responsible for encouraging and instigating hundreds of extrajudicial killings carried out by police and security forces.

The British newspaper The Guardian published a similar report. In addition to The Guardian, India’s The Hindu and Indian Express, Pakistan’s Express Tribune, the UK’s Financial Times, and several other international outlets highlighted the news prominently.

News agencies AFP and Al Jazeera used headlines referring to “crimes against humanity.” However, both the BBC and Reuters headlined their reports as “Sheikh Hasina sentenced to death over student protest crackdown.”

AFP reported: “A Bangladesh court on Monday sentenced ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina to death on charges of crimes against humanity.” The report added that while reading the verdict, Judge Golam Mortuza Mojumdar said Hasina had been found guilty on three charges: incitement to murder, ordering killings, and failing to prevent atrocities. “We are giving her only one punishment, and that is the death penalty,” he said.

Reuters wrote: “Bangladesh’s deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina was sentenced to death on Monday by the war crimes (International Crimes) Tribunal for ordering a crackdown on last year’s student-led uprising.” The agency added, “No such dramatic legal action has been taken against any former Bangladeshi leader in decades. The ruling comes at a time when national elections are approaching, expected in early February.”

Qatar-based Al Jazeera, in a report titled “Bangladesh’s Hasina sentenced to death for crimes against humanity,” said that the special tribunal handed down the death penalty after months of hearings. The tribunal concluded that Hasina had ordered a deadly crackdown on student-led protests last year.

India’s NDTV reported that the International Crimes Tribunal sentenced the former prime minister to death in a case involving crimes against humanity. The court found her guilty on three charges, concluding after months of hearings that she had ordered a lethal crackdown on a student-led uprising, which eventually led to the fall of her Awami League government.

The report also stated that the three-member tribunal, headed by Justice Golam Mortuza Mojumdar, delivered verdicts against two of Hasina’s close associates on similar charges: former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and former Inspector General of Police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun. The court said the three had jointly carried out atrocities with the intent to kill protesters nationwide. However, the former police chief was pardoned because he “apologised to the tribunal and to the people of the country.”

Pakistan’s Dawn and Geo News reported on the development using AFP and Reuters content. Their headlines were, respectively: “Bangladesh’s ousted PM Hasina sentenced to death over crackdown on students” and “Bangladesh’s ousted PM Hasina sentenced to death over student protest suppression.”

Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency reported: “Fugitive former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Hasina has been sentenced to death on charges of crimes against humanity.” The report said a Dhaka court delivered the sentence on Monday. It added that Hasina fled to India on 5 August last year amid widespread protests against her government. The court held her responsible for the deaths of more than 1,400 people during that period of unrest.