00:00Cheers rang out in a packed Bangladeshi courtroom on November 17th,
00:04when the country's ousted prime minister was sentenced to death
00:07for violently suppressing student protests in 2024.
00:11Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal found the 78-year-old former prime minister,
00:16Sheikh Hasina, guilty of crimes against humanity
00:19after her orders during a bloody summer crackdown last year
00:22led to around 1,400 deaths and 25,000 injuries.
00:27Hasina, who fled to India in exile during the 2024 government uprising,
00:31had pleaded not guilty to the charges, classifying the court as a rigged tribunal
00:36and that the decision was biased and politically motivated.
00:40In June 2024, mass student-led protests raged across Bangladesh
00:44after the country's court system reinstated a controversial quota system
00:48that reserved 30% of public sector jobs to descendants of independence war veterans.
00:53From there, the protests grew, morphing into an all-encompassing anti-government movement,
00:59which later called for the ousting of Hasina and her cabinet.
01:02But Hasina's government tried to cling to power
01:04and resorted to violent means to suppress the protests.
01:07According to a UN report, by mid-July, Hasina's party, the Awami League,
01:12incited the party's student wing and the country's police
01:15to launch deadly attacks against protesters.
01:17And as the protests intensified throughout the month,
01:20security forces fired lethal rounds indiscriminately at protesters
01:23in the country's capital of Dhaka,
01:25and in some disturbing cases, even shot unarmed protesters
01:29at point-blank range, according to the United Nations.
01:32During the tribunal, leaked phone call audio verified by the BBC
01:36was played in court, showing Hasina was directly involved
01:39in instructing security officials to use lethal weapons against protesters.
01:43The government even started closing down universities,
01:57shutting off internet access,
01:59and imposing strict curfews to quell the protests.
02:02One early attack in Beckham-Rokeya University in Rangpur
02:05on July 16th caused a stir among demonstrators,
02:09when videos started circulating of a 23-year-old being shot and killed by police.
02:13The disturbing video shows protester Abu Sayyed alone in the street
02:17and raising his hands to the sky,
02:20as two police officers shot him multiple times with shotguns
02:23loaded with lethal metal pellets.
02:26Sayyed was taken to a hospital and later died.
02:28The UN has classified his death as a deliberate extrajudicial killing by the police.
02:33Hundreds more extrajudicial killings of student protesters occurred around the country.
02:37According to the UN, around 12-13% of those killed were under the age of 18.
02:43In August, protesters started to become more organized
02:45with a goal of ousting Hasina and her cabinet from government.
02:48Students started a non-cooperation movement,
02:51urging citizens to not pay taxes, bills, or go to work until their demands were met.
02:56Deadly clashes between police and protesters continued.
02:59A day before a mass march on the country's capital on August 5th,
03:02at least 95 people were killed and hundreds more injured.
03:05As demonstrators took to the streets, according to NPR.
03:09Thousands of protesters defied the country's curfew
03:12and marched in Dhaka towards Hasina's residence.
03:15Right before demonstrators stormed Hasina's home,
03:17the prime minister resigned and fled to India.
03:20Video captured the moment protesters stormed Hasina's residence,
03:23destroying furniture and appearing to take trophies.
03:26After forming an interim government headed by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus,
03:31Hasina's political party, the Awami League, was banned from the country.
03:34And a months-long tribunal was held to investigate the war crimes.
03:38Hasina's close aide, former Home Minister Asadu Zaman Khan,
03:42was also given the death penalty in the tribunal.
03:44A former police chief who pleaded guilty and turned on Hasina
03:47was sentenced to five years in prison, according to the Associated Press.
03:51But celebration over the court's verdict in Bangladesh has also led to a spate of violence.
03:56Chaotic video captured the moment protesters clashed with police
03:58outside the former residence of Hasina's father,
04:01founding president of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rabin.
04:05Protesters pledged to bulldoze the home,
04:07which had already been severely damaged during previous demonstrations.
04:11Several crude bombs were also detonated around Dhaka ahead of the verdict.
04:15According to Reuters, police detained dozens of Awami League activists
04:18over their alleged involvements in the blasts.
04:21India, where Hasina has been in self-imposed exile,
04:24has refused to extradite the ousted PM.
04:27According to CNN, India's Ministry of External Affairs
04:30has said the country noted the verdict
04:31and would engage constructively with all stakeholders.
04:34This is while Hasina's son, Zajib Wazed,
04:37told Reuters that India was treating the fugitive PM
04:39like a head of state.
Comments