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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been given a death sentence for crimes against humanity over her harsh response on protests led by students which resulted in her removal from power.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of authorizing deadly measures to be used against activists, among whom around 1,400 people were killed during the disturbances last year.

Legal proceedings were conducted without her presence by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being the mastermind of numerous deaths during the protests. She has refuted all charges, describing the process as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The verdict marks a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over years of repression. Next of kin of victims and wounded had requested severe punishments.

Reacting to the verdict in a detailed document, she expressed the death penalty was the caretaker administration's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was proud of her government's record on civil liberties.

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

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under increased safeguards prior to the ruling on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina staging a rally and cheering as the judgment was announced.

Dhaka experienced a recent spike in disturbances, with numerous incendiary devices set off and coaches ignited in the days leading up to the verdict.

One explosive incident was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, area law enforcement officer the authorities' representative stated to news organizations.

The student-led uprising last year commenced through demands to abolish government job quotas but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.

International human rights monitors declared in an analysis in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could constitute "violations of human dignity".

The report documented the gunfire from minimal distance of certain demonstrators, the deliberate maiming of others, unjustified apprehensions and abuse.

Disclosed sound files of a call made by the former leader authenticated by media examinations in previous months suggested she had sanctioned the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the proceedings.

Before the decision, kin of those who died in the demonstrations told media representatives they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

One relative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for the former leader and associates who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and exploited their positions".

Another relative, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "implemented before the election".

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

Since Hasina's ousting, an interim government led by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A parliamentary election is scheduled for February 2026.

However, the Awami League, Hasina's political party, was outlawed by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

She alerted last month that if the her faction's nominees were banned from standing in the imminent electoral process, millions would boycott the ballot.

This decision presents a international dilemma for the neighboring countries. Dhaka has formally requested her extradition but until now India has demonstrated no inclination to agree.

Her officially designated attorney her legal counsel said he was "unhappy and desiring the verdict had been different".

"I cannot even contest because my defendants are not present; which is why I am disappointed," he stated further.

The previous week, Hasina's lawyers said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN raising significant due process and due process issues at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial alongside her former home minister and top law enforcement officer.

Even though the verdict grants partial finality to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may not significantly ease the nation's partisan rifts.

"The fury directed at Sheikh Hasina and the her political party has not decreased," a Dhaka-based rights activist stated to media outlets. "Neither she nor the party has expressed regret or displayed repentance for the killings of hundreds of people."

The advocate declared "It makes it difficult for the faction to gain approval by a majority of people in this nation."

The activist added that the sentence was not resolution for the relatives of those who died and were wounded.

"We work with several people who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are amputees now, because of the suppression. They are incapable of excusing her."

A journalist, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it increasingly challenging" for her party to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.

This might transform if "a form of contrition emerges and a disassociation with the former leader and the previous administration," he stated.