The sentence handed down on Monday by Bangladesh’s domestic International Crimes Tribunal, a death penalty for ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, marks a new turn for the neighbouring nation already convulsed by months of political breakdown since Hasina was ousted a year ago and replaced by an unelected, interim government. What began as a post-coup crackdown and as trials that opponents call politically motivated has now exploded into a security and diplomatic crisis whose shockwaves are being felt well beyond Dhaka.

For India and Western capitals, which prize stability in the region, the verdict presents a thicket of hard choices: contain violence; shield civilians; prevent a refugee and humanitarian cascade; and guard against the transnationalisation of unrest and radical networks t

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