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'Lost control, but..': Sheikh Hasina's 1st reaction after getting death sentence
Sheikh Hasina said she was denied a fair chance to defend herself, and said she is not afraid to face her accusers before a proper tribunal.
Sheikh Hasina, ousted Bangladesh prime minister, on Monday condemned the death sentence handed to her by a Dhaka court, calling the verdict “rigged”, “preordained”, and the product of an “unelected government with no democratic mandate”.
“We lost control of the situation, but to characterize what happened as a premeditated assault on citizens is simply to misread the facts,” she said Monday.
The 78-year-old former leader, who has been living in India since her overthrow in August 2024, was convicted on three counts of crimes against humanity, including incitement, ordering killings, and failing to prevent atrocities during the deadly crackdown on a student-led uprising that ended her rule.
As judge Golam Mortuza Mozumder read out the verdict in a packed Dhaka courtroom, cheers erupted. “All the elements constituting crimes against humanity have been fulfilled,” he said, announcing the death penalty.
The ruling — broadcast live on national television — comes months before Bangladesh is expected to hold its first election since Hasina’s ouster, now slated for February 2026.
Hasina: ‘Not Afraid to Face My Accusers’
In statements released earlier, Hasina insisted the tribunal lacked legitimacy and due process.
- She said she had been “given no fair chance to defend myself in court”.
- She accused the judges of delivering “biased and politically motivated” decisions.
- She alleged the tribunal was “rigged” and “established and presided over by an unelected government with no democratic mandate”.
- She declared she was “not afraid to face my accusers in a proper tribunal where evidence can be weighed and tested fairly”.
Hasina had refused to return to Bangladesh despite court orders to attend the proceedings, rejecting the authority of what she calls an “interim junta”.
