NEW DELHI, November 17. /TASS/. Former Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina, who was sentenced to death earlier on Monday by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Republic, rejected the court's decision and accused it of not giving her the opportunity to defend herself, the NDTV television broadcaster reported.

In a statement broadcast by NDTV, Sheikh Hasina announced following the court’s verdict that the trial was a "jurisprudential joke" as judges and lawyers "publicly expressed sympathy for the current authorities."

She also stated that the interim government of Bangladesh under the leadership of Muhammad Yunus is "destroying the systems of public services and law enforcement agencies."

Earlier in the day, the International Crimes Tribunal found Hasina guilty on five counts of crimes against humanity in connection with a government crackdown on mass protests last year.

Hasina was tried alongside her ex-interior minister, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, who also received a death sentence, and former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, who was sentenced to five years behind bars. The former agreed to cooperate with the investigation and pleaded guilty. Among those tried, only Al-Mamun was present for sentencing.

Hasina, who fled to India following riots in August 2024, was tried in absentia. Under Bangladeshi law, she cannot appeal the verdict unless she is arrested or surrenders to police within 30 days.

The ex-premier has repeatedly stated in media interviews that she had never issued orders to kill protesters and that it was Muhammad Yunus, who took charge of the provisional government after she resigned, that gave the go-ahead to do that.

Anti-government protests swept the South Asian country in July 2024, when students, dissatisfied with high unemployment rates and a lack of economic prospects, spearheaded riots. Some 1,400 people were killed in unrest and clashes with police. Hasina resigned from her position and fled to India aboard a helicopter on August 5, 2024.

Bangladesh is slated to hold a parliamentary election in February 2026.