DHAKA: As part of her trial for crimes against humanity, Bangladeshi prosecution lawyers urged on Thursday that Sheikh Hasina, the former prime minister who is currently on the run, be given the death penalty.

Hasina is accused of organizing a violent crackdown in an unsuccessful attempt to put down a student-led rebellion, but she has disregarded court demands to return from India, where she fled last year.

The conflicts between July and August 2024 killed up to 1,400 people. (UN)

Outside the court, top prosecutor Tajul Islam told reporters, “We demand the highest punishment for her.” The rule is one death sentence for one murder. She should receive 1,400 sentences for 1,400 killings, but we want at least one because that is not humanly conceivable.

Along with two former senior officials, she is facing an absentee trial. While former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun is in detention and has entered a guilty plea, her former interior minister, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, is also on the run.