E-Paper
'No one above the law': Muhammad Yunus welcomes death sentence for Sheikh Hasina
Sheikh Hasina was found guilty by a tribunal court in Bangladesh on three counts of charges: incitement, order to kill and inaction to prevent the atrocities.
Bangladesh's interim leader Muhammad Yunus on Monday hailed the death penalty verdict by a tribunal court for ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, saying that “no one is above the law” and that the verdict “recognises suffering” of the students killed in protests last year that led to the Awami League leader’s ouster and escape to India.
Hasina was found guilty by Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal on three counts of charges: incitement, order to kill and inaction to prevent the atrocities. "We have decided to inflict her with only one sentence, that is, sentence of death,” Judge Golam Mortuza Mozumder said.
Yunus reacts to Sheikh Hasina’s death penalty verdict
In a long statement posted on X, Bangladesh’s chief adviser said that the verdict offers “vital, if insufficient, justice to the thousands harmed in the uprising of July and August 2024, and to the families who still carry their loss.”
He said, “The conviction and sentencing affirm a fundamental principle: no one, regardless of power, is above the law.”
“We stand at a moment of rebuilding democratic foundations wrecked by years of oppression. The crimes at issue—the ordering of lethal force against young people and children whose only weapons were their voices—violated both our laws and the basic bond between government and citizens. These acts outraged Bangladeshis’ core values: dignity, resilience, and commitment to justice,” the statement read.
It also said, “This verdict recognises their suffering and confirms that our justice system will hold perpetrators accountable.”
Yunus added, “Bangladesh is now rejoining global currents of accountability. The students and citizens who stood for change understood this, and many paid with their lives—giving their today for our tomorrow.”
Bangladesh seeks extradition, India reacts to death sentence
Bangladesh's foreign ministry in a statement sought the return of Hasina from India based on an extradition agreement between the two countries.
It also said, "Providing refuge to these individuals, who have been convicted of crimes against humanity, by any other country would be a highly unfriendly act and a disregard for justice.”
Meanwhile, India also reacted to Hasina’s death sentence and said that the close neighbour remains “committed to the best interests of the people of Bangladesh, including in peace, democracy, inclusion and stability in that country.”
The Ministry of External Affairs also said, “We will always engage constructively with all stakeholders to that end.”
