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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 forced departure.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of allowing lethal force to be used against protesters, among whom around 1,400 people died during the turmoil last year.

Legal proceedings were conducted while she was absent 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 the mastermind of multiple fatalities during the protests. She has refuted the entire case, describing the process as "unfair and agenda-driven".

This judgment represents a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over years of repression. Next of kin of victims and wounded had requested strict sentences.

Reacting to the verdict in a detailed document, the former leader stated the execution sentence was the temporary leadership's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a political force and that she was proud of her leadership's history on human rights.

"I have no trepidation to face my accusers in a fair court where the facts can be assessed and reviewed impartially."

The capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under tightened security ahead of the verdict on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics staging a rally and celebrating as the verdict was read.

The city has seen a notable rise in turmoil, with multiple explosives detonated and buses set on fire in the days leading up to the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, regional security representative the police spokesperson told media outlets.

The student-led uprising during 2024 started with requests to remove government job quotas but evolved into a broader opposition campaign.

United Nations rights examiners said in a report in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could amount to "human rights atrocities".

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

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

Ahead of the verdict, relatives of those who died in the demonstrations informed press outlets they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

One relative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for her and co-accused who have "performed revengeful deeds and misused their authority".

Another relative, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "executed before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the kin of victims [in the protests] will find peace in their hearts."

Following her removal, an caretaker administration led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A national vote is planned for February 2026.

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

She alerted last month that if the her faction's nominees were banned from standing in the imminent electoral process, numerous would avoid the vote.

This decision presents a diplomatic challenge for India and Bangladesh. The Bangladesh government has asked her repatriation but to date India has shown no willingness to acquiesce.

Her officially designated attorney the defense lawyer said he was "sad [and wishes] the outcome had varied".

"I cannot even contest because my represented individuals are away; that's why I am disappointed," he continued.

Recently, the defense attorneys said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN highlighting serious fair trial and due process issues at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial in conjunction with her former home minister and security forces head.

Although the punishment grants partial finality to families of killed in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the nation's partisan rifts.

"The fury directed at the former leader and the the former ruling faction has not decreased," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka stated to press agencies. "The leader and her faction has apologised or shown any remorse for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The activist stated "This complicates matters for the party to be accepted by a most citizens in this state."

The campaigner further stated that the penalty was not resolution for the kin of those who died and were wounded.

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

An analyst, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it increasingly challenging" for Awami League to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.

This might transform if "there is some kind of apology and a distancing from the former leader and the old leadership," he stated.