Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed has resigned and left the country after weeks of student protests turned into bloody riots with many casualties across the country.

Hasina reportedly fled by helicopter to India yesterday as thousands of protesters stormed her official residence in the capital Dhaka.

This unexpectedly ended the reign of Bangladesh's longest-serving prime minister, who had been in power since 2009 and had ruled the country for a total of more than 20 years, according to the BBC.

She began her political career as a pro-democracy icon, but in recent years has been accused of becoming an autocratic leader who suppresses any form of opposition. According to various sources, Hasina has carried out politically motivated arrests, extrajudicial killings and other forms of abuse of political opponents.

In January of this year, she won her fourth term as prime minister in elections that many critics condemned as electoral fraud. The main opposition in the country also boycotted the same elections.

How did Hasina come to power?

Hasina is the daughter of Bangladesh's "father of the nation", Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who became the country's first president in 1971.

It gained popular support through pro-democracy protests during the military rule of General Hussain Muhammad Ershad.

She was elected to power for the first time in 1996. It is responsible for signing a water-sharing agreement with India and a peace deal with tribal rebels in the country's southeast.

The biggest success of her rule is that Bangladesh achieved some economic growth that surpassed even India. During her reign, per capita income tripled, and the World Bank estimates that over the past 20 years in Bangladesh, more than 25 million people have been lifted out of poverty. One of the most important infrastructure projects in Bangladesh's history, the $2,9 billion Padma Bridge over the Ganges River, was built during her reign.

Controversies and affairs

A wave of protests in Bangladesh started with demands to scrap civil service quotas, but turned into a wider anti-government movement after Hasina began using the police to forcefully break up the protests. Over 200 people were killed in the process. She characterized the protesters as terrorists and emphasized in her statements that "they should be repressed with a firm hand." In addition, she organized the arrest of over a hundred protesters.

Hasina has long been accused of implementing repressive authoritarian measures against her political opponents and the media - a sharp turn for a prime minister who once championed multi-party democracy.

Human rights groups estimate that since she returned to power in 2009, some 600 people have disappeared, while hundreds more have been killed without trial.

Bangladeshi security forces have also long been accused of serious abuse and torture, and in 2021 the US sanctioned the Rapid Action Battalion – a notorious elite police unit accused of brutal killings – citing human rights abuses as the main reason.

Most human rights activists and journalists face increased attacks, including arrests, surveillance and harassment. Tough laws have been used against journalists that critics say stifle press freedom.