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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been sentenced to death for crimes against humanity due to her severe measures on protests led by students which resulted in her removal from power.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of permitting fatal actions to be used against demonstrators, 1,400 of whom lost their lives during the turmoil last year.

The trial proceeded without her presence by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being responsible for multiple fatalities during the protests. The former leader rejected all charges, describing the process as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

This judgment represents a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over extended periods of oppression. Relatives of the deceased and harmed had called for tough penalties.

Answering the judgment in a five-page statement, Hasina said the execution sentence was the temporary leadership's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was proud of her leadership's history on human rights.

"I am not afraid to face my accusers in a proper tribunal where the proof can be evaluated and reviewed impartially."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under increased safeguards before the decision on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics holding a protest and cheering as the judgment was announced.

The capital witnessed a notable rise in turmoil, with numerous incendiary devices set off and public transport vehicles burned in the time before the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, area law enforcement officer the police spokesperson stated to news organizations.

The student-led uprising during 2024 began with calls to eliminate public sector reservation policies but transformed into a wider anti-government movement.

United Nations rights examiners declared in an analysis in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could constitute "crimes against humanity".

The report documented the gunfire from minimal distance of a number of activists, the deliberate maiming of additional individuals, unwarranted detentions and mistreatment.

Unauthorized recordings of one of Hasina's phone calls verified by media examinations in previous months indicated she had approved the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the legal process.

Ahead of the verdict, family members of those fatally injured in the unrest stated to media representatives they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

Ramjan Ali, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for Hasina and others who have "committed acts of vengeance and misused their authority".

Another relative, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "implemented before the election".

"Solely at that point the families of those killed [in the protests] will find peace in their minds."

Since Hasina's ousting, an caretaker administration under the guidance of economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A national vote is set for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the Awami League, the former ruling party, was banned by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

Hasina warned last month that if the the League's representatives were barred from participating in the imminent electoral process, numerous would avoid the vote.

The judgment creates a international dilemma for the neighboring countries. The Bangladesh government has asked her return but to date India has demonstrated no inclination to acquiesce.

Her officially designated attorney the defense lawyer said he was "disappointed and hoping the outcome had varied".

"I cannot even contest because my clients are absent; that's why I am sad," he added.

Recently, her legal team said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN pointing out significant due process and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina together with her former home minister and top law enforcement officer.

While the sentence offers some closure to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may do little to soothe the country's political divisions.

"The resentment towards the former leader and the Awami League has not decreased," a human rights advocate from the capital stated to media outlets. "Neither she nor the party has apologised or shown any remorse for the killings of hundreds of people."

The advocate declared "This complicates matters for the party to be accepted by a most citizens in this nation."

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

"We assist numerous persons who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are now disabled, because of the suppression. They cannot pardon her."

A journalist, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it increasingly challenging" for the political faction to become a standard element of Bangladeshi politics again.

This could alter if "a form of contrition emerges and a distancing from Hasina and the former hierarchy," he said.