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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been given a death sentence for crimes against humanity stemming from her harsh response on student-led protests which led to her removal from power.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of authorizing deadly measures to be used against demonstrators, 1,400 of whom lost their lives during the turmoil in the previous year.

Legal proceedings were conducted in absentia by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being behind hundreds of killings during the protests. She has refuted every accusation, describing the process as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

This judgment represents a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over long-standing suppression. Relatives of the deceased and wounded had called for severe punishments.

Responding to the decision in a comprehensive declaration, the former leader stated the death penalty was the temporary leadership's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a political force and that she was content of her administration's performance on individual freedoms.

"I am not afraid to face my accusers in a just legal forum where the facts can be assessed and examined justly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under enhanced protection prior to the verdict on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina holding a protest and applauding as the sentence was declared.

The capital witnessed a sudden increase in disturbances, with numerous incendiary devices set off and buses set on fire in the time before the verdict.

One explosive incident was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, regional security representative the authorities' representative told media outlets.

The youth-driven revolt last year commenced through calls to eliminate government job quotas but evolved into a broader opposition campaign.

United Nations rights examiners declared in an analysis in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could constitute "violations of human dignity".

The report documented the gunfire from minimal distance of a number of activists, the purposeful disabling of further participants, arbitrary arrests and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of a telephone conversation involving Hasina verified by external reviews during the current year implied she had approved the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the trial.

Before the decision, family members of those killed during the protests told press outlets they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

One relative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for Hasina and others who have "committed acts of vengeance and exploited their positions".

A different family member, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "carried out before the election".

"Only then the families of those killed [in the protests] will obtain solace in their souls."

Since Hasina's ousting, an temporary leadership led by economist Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A parliamentary election is set for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the Hasina's political party, her political faction, was prohibited by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

Hasina warned during the past month that if the the League's representatives were barred from participating in the upcoming election, countless would abstain the ballot.

The judgment creates a foreign relations issue for both nations. Authorities have sought her return but until now India has demonstrated no inclination to comply.

Her officially designated attorney Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "sad [and wishes] the outcome had varied".

"I even cannot appeal because my clients are absent; for that reason I am disheartened," he added.

Last week, the defense attorneys said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN highlighting serious fair trial and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial together with her ex-interior minister and police chief.

Even though the verdict offers some closure to families of killed in the protests, it may do little to soothe the country's political divisions.

"The resentment towards Hasina and the her political party has not subsided," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka stated to media outlets. "Neither she nor the party has apologised or displayed repentance for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The advocate declared "It makes it difficult for the party to be accepted by a most citizens in this state."

The advocate continued that the penalty was not finality for the kin of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We work with multiple individuals who lost their limbs forever, they are amputees now, because of the suppression. They are incapable of excusing her."

A journalist, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it even more difficult" for Awami League to become a standard element of Bangladeshi politics again.

This may change if "a form of contrition emerges and a separation from Sheikh Hasina and the old leadership," he expressed.