Sheikh Hasina in Mirpur, Bangladesh, on July 25, 2024. - / AFP
Bangladeshi prosecution lawyers demanded on Thursday, October 16, that fugitive ex-prime minister Sheikh Hasina receive the death penalty in her trial for crimes against humanity. Hasina has defied court orders to return from India, where she fled last year, to face charges of ordering a deadly crackdown in a failed attempt to crush a student-led uprising. Up to 1,400 people were killed in the clashes between July and August 2024, according to the United Nations.
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Sheikh Hasina, India's cumbersome guest
"We demand the highest punishment for her," chief prosecutor Tajul Islam told reporters outside court. "For a single murder, one death penalty is the rule. For 1,400 murders, she should be sentenced 1,400 times – but since that is not humanly possible, we demand at least one."
