Bangladesh Is Conducive After Former PM Hasina Sentenced To Death Calls For A Total Boycott

Former Prime Minister (PM) Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina (left). (Instagram @sheikhhasina.mp) a

JAKARTA - Dhaka and major cities in Bangladesh are conducive post-ex Prime Minister (PM) Sheikh Hasina was sentenced to death for bloody violence against student demonstrations that toppled her power last year.

Citing AFP, Wednesday 19 November, Hasina called for a national boycott after the verdict on the death penalty of the International Crime Court in Bangladesh on Monday 17 November.

The ruling party in Bangladesh, the Awami League, led by Hasina, said it rejected the court's decision which was held in a absentia and called for a total boycott the following day.

After the verdict, the demonstrators against Hasina clashed with the police and soldiers until Monday evening, November 17. They damaged Hasina's father, Bangladesh's leader of independence Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Local media reported the home of former President Abdul Hamid, a veteran leader of the Awami League, was also damaged in the northeastern Kishoreganj district.

However, on Tuesday, November 18 local time, shop and school services continued to run normally.

Mohammad Saikot Hossain, a Dhaka businessman, considered "there is no real rule of law in Bangladesh" and he is concerned about the future of his children.

"Those who rule the country have previously established the law in their own way, and those in power are now also forming the law in their own way," Hossain said.

"Our next generation grows in this environment. They have no goals and a future. I am very worried about where they will go and what they will do in the future."

Hasina, 78, was convicted on Monday on five counts of crimes against humanity. He was also sentenced to prison and died for making statements inciting and ordering the destruction of students who demonstrated by helicopters, drones, and lethal weapons.

The court also sentenced a former police chief to five years in prison after pleading guilty and becoming a state witness for Hasina.

Bangladesh has been experiencing demonstrations led by students for weeks since July and August last year. The demonstrators voiced dissatisfaction with the quota system to allocate government work that critics say benefits those who have connections with the Hasina party.

The interim government of Bangladesh recorded 800 victims of the bloody demonstration killed and about 14,000 injured. Meanwhile, the United Nations (UN) in February 2025 estimated as many as 1,400 people were killed.

The demonstration led to the collapse of Hasina's 15-year power on August 5, 2024. Hasina and Khan finally fled to India, which refused to extradite the two.

On the court's decision, Hasina was unable to file an appeal unless she gave up or was arrested within 30 days of the verdict.

He and Khan also did not appoint defense lawyers and rejected state-appointed defense attorneys for the tribunal.