As a special court sentenced former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan and former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and her close aide, former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan, to death for crimes against humanity in Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka, and Shahina Begum wept in agony.
Sajjat Hosen Sojal, Begum’s 20-year-old son, was shot and burned by the police on August 5, 2024, just before a student-led uprising forced Hasina to step down and flee the nation she had ruled with an iron fist for 15 years.
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Six student protesters were killed that day in Ashulia, a readymade clothing store on the outskirts of Dhaka, according to the prosecution: five were shot and their bodies burned, and another was allegedly burned alive inside the police station.
The killings, allegedly ordered by Hasina to hold onto onto the hold of power, came as part of a brutal crackdown by security forces against the ‘July Uprising’, in which more than 1,400 protesters were killed, the UN claims.
The two were sentenced to death on Monday after a months-long absentee trial because Hasina and Khan had fled to neighboring India, and former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah al-Mamun, who had turned himself in as a state witness, received a five-year jail term.
As the historic verdict sparked a rise in emotions in the nation of 170 million people, Begum told Al Jazeera on Monday night, saying, “I cannot be calm until she is brought back and hanged in this country.”
“In that police station, my son screamed for assistance. He was not saved by anyone. I’ll be at ease until the burners can never again harm another mother’s child.
Many people are debating whether Hasina will face justice as hundreds of families who lost loved ones during the uprising last year come to terms with Monday’s landmark sentencing.
Questions remain as to whether India, a close ally of Hasina during her 15 years of rule, would extradite them and Khan, or whether it would help them avoid justice.
Begum, a resident of Shyampur village in northern Gaibandha district, remarked, “They took five minutes to burn my son alive, but it took almost a year and a half to deliver this verdict.”
Can she really be brought back from India by this government? What would happen if Hasina and her coworkers were to be protected by the new government? Who can guarantee that these murderers won’t be able to flee?”
Sentence must be carried out, according to the law.
Mir Mahbubur Rahman Snigdho, whose brother Mir Mugdho was shot dead during the uprising, urged the authorities to bring her back to Bangladesh on Monday as hundreds of people gathered outside the tribunal building to enforce the verdict.
Syed Gazi Rahman, the father of the protester Mutasir Rahman, was standing close to him. He demanded that Hasina be executed “swiftly and publicly” and that the sentence be swiftly and publicly delivered.
Family members of Abu Sayeed welcomed the death sentence against the former prime minister at Bhabnapur Jaforpara village in the northern district of Rangpur, which is 300 kilometers (186 miles) away.
Sayeed was the first victim of the July Uprising, which began with mostly student-led demonstrations against a contentious quota system for government jobs that disproportionately favored the young people who fought for Pakistan’s independence in 1971.
The police fatally shot Sayeed, a student leader, on July 16, 2024, while demonstrating in Rangpur.
“My heart has finally cooled.” I’m satisfied. His father, Mokbul Hossain, called for his daughter to be immediately brought back from India and put to death in Bangladesh.
“My son has vanished. I’m in pain because of it. His mother, Monowara Begum, called for the sentence to be carried out. After the verdict, she claimed, the family gave out candy to those who came by.
Shahriar Khan Anas, the mother of the 10-year-old student who was fatally shot on August 5, 2024 in Dhaka’s Chankharpul neighborhood, claimed the verdict was “only a consolation.”
She said, “Justice will be served the day it is put to death.”
Even 1, 400 death sentences as a mother would not suffice to serve the needs of thousands of mothers, according to the author. When a ruler uses mass murder to cling to power, the world must be aware of the consequences. God may give you some time, but He won’t give you any.
Dipti expressed disappointment with the trial’s outcome regarding former police chief al-Mamun.
Because Abdullah al-Mamun murdered our children as a member of the country’s security forces, he should have received a longer prison term, she said.
No dictator should rise once more.
Following Hasina’s death sentence, several processions took place on Monday in Dhaka and other parts of the nation.
Second-year undergraduate student Ar Rafi, a student in his second year, said they would organize a march to demand Hasina’s extradition from India.
“We’re content for the moment,” we said. However, we want Hasina to be executed and returned from India. He told Al Jazeera, “We, the students, will remain on the streets until her sentence is carried out.”
Following the tribunal’s decision, a group called Maulik Bangla staged a symbolic performance of Hasina’s execution in the Shahbagh intersection area of Dhaka.
According to Sharif Osman bin Hadi, a spokesperson for the non-partisan cultural organization Inquilab Manch (Revolution Front), “This is a message that no dictator should rise again.”
The ruling was welcomed by political parties, including Bangladesh’s main opposition, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), and Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami.
According to BNP leader Salahuddin Ahmed, “This decision proves that no matter how powerful a fascist or autocrat becomes, they will one day have to stand in the dock.”
Mia Golam Porwar, a leader of the Jamaat, claimed the ruling demonstrated that “no head of government or powerful political leader is above the law” and that the verdict offers “some measure of comfort” to the families of the people who died during the uprising.
The UN human rights office reiterated its opposition to the death penalty and reaffirmed that it was “an important moment for the victims” when it cited the verdict as “an important moment for the victims.”
The victims “deserved much better,” according to Amnesty International, and the rights organization warned that rushed proceedings in absentia could undermine justice.
The death penalty only adds to human rights violations, according to the author, “but victims need justice and accountability.” It is the most cruel, hateful, and inhumane punishment that has no place in the legal system, it said.
The verdict, according to the victims’ families, was seen as a recognition of the brutality of the crackdown, and raises hopes for a resolution.
Atikul Gazi, a 21-year-old TikToker from Dhaka’s Uttara region who survived being shot at close range on August 5, 2024, but ultimately lost his left arm, said, “This verdict sends a message that justice is inevitable.”
