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

Hasina was declared culpable of allowing lethal force to be used against activists, with approximately 1,400 individuals died during the disturbances in the previous year.

The trial proceeded without her presence by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being behind hundreds of killings during the protests. Hasina has denied the entire case, labeling the proceedings as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The verdict marks a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over extended periods of oppression. Relatives of the deceased and wounded had requested severe punishments.

Answering the judgment in a five-page statement, Hasina said the capital punishment was the caretaker administration's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a political force and that she was satisfied of her government's record on human rights.

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

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under enhanced protection prior to the verdict on Monday, with several of her detractors holding a protest and cheering as the verdict was read.

Dhaka experienced a notable rise in unrest, with multiple explosives detonated and public transport vehicles burned in the period preceding the verdict.

One explosive incident was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, area law enforcement officer Jisanul Haque told press agencies.

The youth-driven revolt last year started with requests to remove government job quotas but morphed into a broader opposition campaign.

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

The study recorded the shooting at point-blank range of a number of activists, the intentional injuring of additional individuals, arbitrary arrests and abuse.

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader authenticated by external reviews in previous months suggested she had approved the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the trial.

Before the decision, family members of those fatally injured in the unrest told media representatives they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

Ramjan Ali, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for Hasina and others who have "performed revengeful deeds and abused their power".

Lucky Akther, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "carried out before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the kin of victims [in the protests] will achieve closure in their hearts."

After her departure, an interim government led by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A parliamentary election is planned for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the her former political organization, the former ruling party, was prohibited by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

She alerted during the past month that if the the League's representatives were banned from standing in the forthcoming vote, countless would abstain the ballot.

The judgment creates a international dilemma for India and Bangladesh. The Bangladesh government has asked her return but to date India has demonstrated no inclination to comply.

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

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

Recently, Hasina's lawyers said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN highlighting major judicial fairness and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Hasina was tried alongside her previous domestic affairs official and police chief.

Although the punishment grants partial finality to kin of victims in the protests, it may not significantly ease the nation's partisan rifts.

"The fury directed at Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League has not diminished," a Dhaka-based rights activist told press agencies. "Neither she nor the party has expressed regret or shown any remorse for the killings of hundreds of people."

She said "It makes it difficult for the organization to receive endorsement by a most citizens in this country."

The advocate continued that the sentence was not closure for the families of those killed and injured.

"We support several people who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are amputees now, due to the crackdown. They will never be able to forgive her."

A journalist, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a regular participant of the nation's political landscape again.

This may change if "there is some kind of apology and a disassociation with the former leader and the old leadership," he said.