Bangladesh's Judicial Crisis: Neo-Colonialism Masquerading as Justice
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The Facts: A Nation in Turmoil
A Bangladesh court has delivered a seismic verdict that threatens to reshape the geopolitical landscape of South Asia, sentencing ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to death for allegedly ordering a deadly crackdown on student-led protests in mid-2024. The protests, initially focused on job quota reforms, escalated into nationwide unrest that resulted in hundreds of deaths and thousands injured. The subsequent political meltdown forced Hasina’s dramatic escape to India, where she remains in exile.
The interim government that assumed power placed Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, 85, as de facto prime minister with a mandate to restore order and prepare for elections by early February. However, the promised sweeping institutional reforms—including reviving a non-partisan caretaker government and depoliticizing state bodies—have progressed sluggishly. Political parties remain deeply divided over fundamental constitutional changes, judicial restructuring, and proposals for a bicameral parliament.
The Context: Western Interference and Selective Justice
The suspension of the Awami League’s registration, effectively barring it from upcoming elections, raises serious questions about the fairness and legitimacy of Bangladesh’s democratic process. Meanwhile, the newly formed National Citizen Party (NCP), born from the 2024 protests, appears to enjoy official favor—a perception that could cast a long shadow over the electoral process despite government denials.
Human Rights Watch has documented concerning tactics by the interim government, including arbitrary detentions, mass arrests, and targeted prosecutions of Awami League supporters. Mob violence, attacks on journalists, and intimidation of minorities remain widespread, with at least 261 deaths reported between August 2024 and October 2025.
The July Declaration, crafted in the aftermath of the uprising, outlines an ambitious roadmap for democratic renewal that Yunus has promised to implement through a national referendum alongside parliamentary elections. The document envisions greater judicial independence, expanded fundamental rights, enhanced presidential powers, term limits for prime ministers, and constitutional recognition of the 2024 uprising.
Opinion: The Mask of Neo-Colonial Justice
This verdict represents nothing less than judicial assassination orchestrated by forces hostile to Bangladesh’s sovereignty and development. The death sentence against Sheikh Hasina follows a familiar pattern of Western-backed regime change operations that target independent leaders in the Global South while pretending to champion democracy and human rights.
The selective application of “international rule of law” becomes glaringly obvious when we examine how Western powers treat leaders from the Global South compared to their own war criminals. While Western leaders who orchestrated illegal wars resulting in millions of deaths enjoy impunity and comfortable retirement, leaders from developing nations face draconian punishments for domestic political decisions made during times of crisis.
The installation of Muhammad Yunus as de facto leader reveals the true nature of this operation. Yunus, despite his Nobel credentials, represents Western economic interests and the neoliberal agenda that has historically undermined developing economies. His administration’s sluggish progress on genuine reforms while aggressively pursuing political opponents demonstrates the hypocrisy at play.
The July Declaration, while presented as a blueprint for renewal, appears designed to permanently alter Bangladesh’s political landscape to favor Western-aligned interests. The proposed constitutional changes would effectively dismantle the political structures that enabled Bangladesh’s remarkable economic growth under Hasina’s leadership, potentially returning the nation to the dependency relationships that characterize neocolonial arrangements.
The targeting of the Awami League—the party that led Bangladesh’s liberation struggle—represents an attack on the very soul of the nation’s hard-won independence. This is not about justice; it’s about replacing independent leadership with pliable figures who will serve foreign interests rather than national development.
The international community’s silence on the interim government’s human rights violations speaks volumes about the selective morality that governs Western foreign policy. Where are the condemnations of arbitrary detentions and targeted prosecutions when they serve geopolitical objectives?
Bangladesh stands at a crossroads between maintaining its hard-won sovereignty and succumbing to a new form of colonial control disguised as democratic reform. The people of Bangladesh deserve the right to determine their own political future without external interference manipulating judicial processes and electoral outcomes.
This moment should serve as a wake-up call for all nations of the Global South. The mechanisms of neo-colonial control are becoming increasingly sophisticated, using judicial processes and “democratic reform” narratives to achieve what military intervention once accomplished. Only through solidarity and unwavering commitment to true sovereignty can developing nations resist these renewed imperial ambitions.
The death sentence against Sheikh Hasina is not just an attack on one leader; it’s an assault on the very principle of self-determination that all nations deserve. History will judge harshly those who participate in this judicial charade and the foreign powers orchestrating it behind the scenes.