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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been sentenced to death for crimes against humanity due to her crackdown on student-led protests which caused her forced departure.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of authorizing deadly measures to be used against protesters, among whom around 1,400 people died during the turmoil in the previous year.

Legal proceedings were conducted in absentia by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being behind multiple fatalities during the protests. Hasina has denied the entire case, labeling the proceedings as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

This judgment represents a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over extended periods of oppression. Relatives of the deceased and injured had requested severe punishments.

Reacting to the verdict in a five-page statement, the former leader stated the execution sentence was the interim government's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a electoral entity and that she was proud of her administration's performance on human rights.

"I have no trepidation to face my accusers in a fair court where the proof can be evaluated and tested fairly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under enhanced protection prior to the verdict on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics staging a rally and celebrating as the sentence was declared.

The city has seen a recent spike in turmoil, with multiple explosives detonated and public transport vehicles burned in the time before the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, local police official the police spokesperson stated to news organizations.

The protest movement led by students in the previous year commenced through requests to remove public sector reservation policies but transformed into a wider anti-government movement.

International human rights monitors declared in an analysis in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could constitute "crimes against humanity".

The report documented the gunfire from minimal distance of a number of activists, the intentional injuring of further participants, arbitrary arrests and abuse.

Leaked audio of one of Hasina's phone calls authenticated by external reviews in previous months implied she had sanctioned the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the legal process.

Before the decision, kin of those who died in the demonstrations told media representatives they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

Ramjan Ali, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for Hasina and others who have "committed acts of vengeance and exploited their positions".

A different family member, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "implemented before the election".

"Only then the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will achieve closure in their hearts."

After her departure, an interim government under the guidance of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A national vote is scheduled for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the Hasina's political party, Hasina's political party, was prohibited by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

She alerted last month that if the party's candidates were barred from participating in the upcoming election, millions would boycott the vote.

This decision presents a foreign relations issue for the neighboring countries. Dhaka has formally requested her return but to date India has demonstrated no inclination to comply.

Her officially designated attorney her legal counsel said he was "disappointed and hoping the outcome had varied".

"I am unable to challenge because my represented individuals are away; for that reason I am disappointed," he continued.

The previous week, the defense attorneys said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN highlighting significant due process and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

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

Although the punishment grants partial finality to kin of victims in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the country's political divisions.

"The resentment towards the former leader and the Awami League has not decreased," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka told news organizations. "Neither she nor the party has apologised or displayed repentance for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The advocate declared "It makes it difficult for the faction to gain approval by a bulk of the population in this state."

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

"We support multiple individuals who suffered permanent amputations, they are now disabled, due to the crackdown. They cannot pardon her."

David Bergman, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it even more difficult" for her party to become a standard element of the nation's political landscape again.

This could alter if "an expression of regret occurs and a distancing from the former leader and the former hierarchy," he expressed.