The once all-powerful leader who governed Bangladesh with an iron fist for 15 long years, in her second stretch, and eliminated opposition with brute force, was driven out of power last year by a people’s movement. The disgraced leader who fled the country has now been convicted and sentenced to death for committing “crimes against humanity” though the sentence may never be implemented.

Such is the irony of history that the deposed leader was convicted by the same special tribunal which she had created to persecute her rivals. Some half a dozen political leaders, many of whom had served in previous administrations, were executed after dubious trials. Thousands of people were disappeared or thrown into dungeons for years. She retained power through controversial elections and had virtually established a one-party state.

But ultimately, the coercive power of the state could not withstand the power of the people. The ending was steeped in blood. A United Nations report said up to 1,400 people may have been killed during the 2024 protests, most from gunfire by security forces, it cited evidence that it was official policy to attack and violently repress anti-government protesters and sympathizers. But even such a display of repression could not save her from losing power.

Hasina might have saved her life by fleeing the country but could not escape the criminal proceedings conducted in her absence. After months of being tried in absentia, a three-member International Crimes Tribunal pronounced her guilty on several charges including incitement, orders to kill and inaction to prevent atrocities as she oversaw a crackdown on anti-government protesters last year.

Announcing the verdict in a courtroom packed with the relatives of the victims, the tribunal said the “accused prime minister committed crimes against humanity by her order to use drones, helicopters and lethal weapons” against the people. Hasina said that the tribunal was a “politically motivated charade”. Her former home minister has also been convicted.

The UN human rights office described the sentencing as “an important moment for victims” but said Hasina should not have been sentenced to death. “We have been calling for perpetrators, including individuals in positions of command and leadership, to be held accountable in accordance with international standards,” said a UN spokesperson, adding: “We […] regret the imposition of the death penalty, which we oppose in all circumstances.”

But Muhammad Yunus, the head of the provisional government of Bangladesh has defended the convictions saying it reaffirmed the principle that “no one, regardless of power, is above the law”. He called the verdict “vital, if insufficient, justice” to the thousands affected during the crackdown, including the families of those killed during the uprising.

This is the first time in Bangladesh that a former prime minister has been sentenced to death by the court, though the country has seen some leaders meeting a violent end while in power. Among them was Hasina’s father and Bangladesh’s founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He was assassinated along with most of his family members on Aug 15, 1975, by a group of Bangladesh Army personnel who invaded his residence as part of a coup d’état. Hasina escaped death as she was out of the country at that time. She lived in India for some years before returning to Bangladesh in the 1980s after being elected to head the Awami League party. She was elected as prime minister for the first time in 1996 after the ouster of Gen Ershad’s government. But after the end of her first stint, she had to wait for almost a decade to return to power, and then she stayed put for 15 long years.

One of the major reasons for her dictatorial control was the remarkable economic progress achieved by Bangladesh during that period. From a basket case, Bangladesh became an international success story with the fastest economic growth rate in South Asia. In the Human Development Index too, Bangladesh did very well as compared to other underdeveloped countries. This new prosperity and economic potential encouraged Sheikh Hasina to consolidate her authoritarian stranglehold, as she stocked state institutions with party loyalists.

But she failed to see the growing political unrest that was simmering beneath the surface. Her government crushed all voices of protest. Protests broke out in 2013 against the execution of some political leaders for alleged collaboration with the Pakistan military during the 1971 war. The protest was crushed with the full power of the state. The protest was a warning to her authoritarian rule, but instead of heeding it, she consolidated more power and started building a personality cult around her father. Life-size portraits and sculptures of herself and Sheikh Mujibur Rehman adorned the capital’s streets and city squares.

The rigged elections of January 2024, when Hasina won her fifth consecutive term in office, heightened political discontent in the country. The Awami League claimed a two-thirds majority in the elections, which had been boycotted by the opposition. Many of the remaining seats had also been won by ruling party members standing as independent candidates. The seething political discontent turned into a mass movement in July 2024 when students took to the streets to demand the removal of government job quotas for the descendants of those who participated in the 1971 independence movement. Soon, the movement brought down the government, with Sheikh Hasina fleeing the country.

The conviction and death sentence for the fugitive leader has once again brought Bangladesh into the spotlight. The tribunal’s judgment has heightened the prevailing tension in the country, which has not yet fully recovered from last year’s political upheaval. It is unlikely that India will extradite its trusted ally. Hasina had virtually turned Bangladesh into a satellite state of India. Her ouster came as a huge geopolitical setback to New Delhi. The growing relations between Bangladesh and Pakistan under the new administration in Dhaka have added to the ire of India's Narendra Modi government. Any Indian attempt to destabilize Bangladesh can have far-reaching geopolitical consequences.

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The writer is a journalist and political analyst.