Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajid has been sentenced to death for her crimes against humanity. She was ousted on August 5, 2024, after nationwide student protests.
Nearly 1,400 people were killed during protests and the prime minister at that time ordered the use of drones, helicopters and even lethal weapons against demonstrators.
Hasina, who remained prime minister of Bangladesh for 20 years, fled the country and is currently living in exile in India.
She was sentenced by the same International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) that her government established in 2010 to prosecute people who supported Pakistan at the time of partition.
Hasina was born in 1947 in the southwestern region of what was then East Pakistan. She was the eldest of the five children of Sheikh Mujibur Rehman.
She got her degree in Bengali literature from Dhaka University in 1973 and just after two years, her father alongside most of his family members were killed in a military coup.
Hasina was exiled to India and returned to the country in 1981. She became the head of Awami League.
Khaleda Zia’s Nationalist Party and Hasina’s Awami League joined hands against the military ruler Hossain Mohamed Ershad in 1990 and toppled his government.
Hasina first became the prime minister of the country in 1996 for a five-year term.
Later regained power in 2009 and remained in office for 15 years until getting ousted by student protests in August 2024.
