Sheikh Hasina labels death sentence 'politically motivated,' seeks fair trial abroad

Bangladesh's fugitive former prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday called the guilty verdict and death sentence in her crimes against humanity trial "biased and politically motivated".

Hasina, 78, defied court orders that she return from India to attend her trial about whether she ordered a deadly crackdown against the student-led uprising that ousted her.

She was found guilty and sentenced to death earlier on Monday.

"The verdicts announced against me have been made by a rigged tribunal established and presided over by an unelected government with no democratic mandate," Hasina said in a statement issued from hiding in India.

"They are biased and politically motivated."

Critics accused her of jailing political rivals, enacting harsh anti-press laws, and overseeing widespread human rights abuses, including the killing of opposition activists.

But the trial centred around the 1,400 people who were killed between July and August 2024, according to the United Nations.

Hasina was assigned a state-appointed lawyer for the trial but she refused to recognise the court's authority and said she rejected all charges.

"Its guilty verdict against me was a foregone conclusion," Hasina added in the statement, claiming she would be willing to attend a fresh trial outside her home nation.

"I am not afraid to face my accusers in a proper tribunal where the evidence can be weighed and tested fairly," she said.

"That is why I have repeatedly challenged the interim government to bring these charges before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague."

Bangladesh's foreign ministry summoned India's envoy to Dhaka this month, demanding that New Delhi block the "notorious fugitive" Hasina from talking to journalists and "granting her a platform to spew hatred".

The International Crisis Group said the "political repercussions of this verdict are significant".

"The process has not been without critics," ICG analyst Thomas Kean said.

"In absentia trials are often a source of contention, and in this case the speed with which the hearings were conducted and the apparent lack of resources for the defence also raise questions of fairness... But they should not be used to downplay or deflect from Sheikh Hasina's actions".

Kean added: "The prospect of Sheikh Hasina mounting a political comeback in Bangladesh now appears very slim".