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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been sentenced to death for crimes against humanity over 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 protesters, 1,400 of whom died during the unrest in the previous year.

The trial proceeded without her presence by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, having been exiled 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 "biased and politically motivated".

This judgment represents a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over extended periods of oppression. Families of those killed and injured had demanded severe punishments.

Answering the judgment in a detailed document, Hasina said the execution sentence was the caretaker administration's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a political force and that she was content of her administration's performance on civil liberties.

"I do not fear to face my accusers in a proper tribunal where the evidence can be weighed and reviewed impartially."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under increased safeguards prior to the ruling on Monday, with several of her detractors staging a rally and cheering as the sentence was declared.

The capital witnessed a sudden increase in turmoil, with multiple explosives detonated and public transport vehicles burned in the period preceding the verdict.

One explosive incident was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, regional security representative the authorities' representative told news organizations.

The protest movement led by students last year began with demands to abolish public sector reservation policies but evolved into a broader opposition campaign.

United Nations rights examiners declared in an analysis in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could represent "crimes against humanity".

The study recorded the gunfire from minimal distance of a number of activists, the purposeful disabling of further participants, unjustified apprehensions and abuse.

Disclosed sound files of one of Hasina's phone calls authenticated by media examinations in previous months implied she had approved the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the trial.

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

One relative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for the former leader and associates who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and misused their authority".

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

"Solely at that point the kin of victims [in the protests] will obtain solace in their minds."

Since Hasina's ousting, an caretaker administration led by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A general election is set for February 2026.

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

The former leader cautioned in the previous month that if the party's candidates were barred from participating in the imminent electoral process, numerous would avoid the ballot.

The verdict now poses a international dilemma for both nations. Dhaka has formally requested her repatriation but until now India has demonstrated no inclination to agree.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer the defense lawyer said he was "disappointed and hoping the decision had been otherwise".

"I am unable to challenge because my defendants are not present; for that reason I am disheartened," he stated further.

The previous week, Hasina's lawyers said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN raising serious fair trial and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Hasina was tried in conjunction with her former home minister and security forces head.

Although the punishment provides certain resolution to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may do little to soothe the country's political divisions.

"The resentment towards Sheikh Hasina and the her political party has not diminished," a human rights advocate from the capital informed news organizations. "The leader and her faction has said sorry or demonstrated contrition for the killings of hundreds of people."

She said "It makes it difficult for the faction to gain approval by a most citizens in this state."

The advocate continued that the punishment was not finality for the relatives of those killed and injured.

"We assist numerous persons who lost their limbs forever, they are currently without limbs, because of the suppression. They will never be able to forgive her."

David Bergman, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it particularly hard" for her party to become a normal feature of the nation's political landscape again.

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