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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been given a death sentence for crimes against humanity over her severe measures on student-led protests which caused her removal from power.

Hasina was declared culpable of permitting fatal actions to be used against activists, 1,400 of whom were killed during the disturbances in the previous year.

Legal proceedings were conducted in absentia by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being the mastermind of numerous deaths during the protests. The former leader rejected all charges, describing the process as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

This judgment represents a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over long-standing suppression. Families of those killed and injured had demanded strict sentences.

Responding to the decision in a comprehensive declaration, Hasina said the execution sentence was the interim government's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was satisfied of her leadership's history on human rights.

"I have no trepidation to meet my challengers in a fair court where the proof can be evaluated and reviewed impartially."

The capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under increased safeguards prior to the verdict on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics organizing a demonstration and celebrating as the sentence was declared.

The capital witnessed a recent spike in turmoil, with numerous incendiary devices set off and buses set on fire in the period preceding the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, local police official Jisanul Haque told media outlets.

The protest movement led by students during 2024 commenced through calls to eliminate state employment quotas but morphed into a broader opposition campaign.

UN human rights investigators declared in an analysis in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could amount to "crimes against humanity".

The study recorded the shooting at point-blank range of certain demonstrators, the intentional injuring of others, arbitrary arrests and mistreatment.

Disclosed sound files of one of Hasina's phone calls confirmed by investigative sources in previous months indicated she had authorized the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the trial.

Before the decision, relatives of those fatally injured in the unrest told news agencies 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 Hasina and others who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and misused their authority".

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

"Only then the families of those killed [in the protests] will obtain solace in their hearts."

After her departure, an interim government headed by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A general election is planned for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the Hasina's political party, the former ruling party, was prohibited by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

She alerted during the past month that if the her faction's nominees were barred from participating in the forthcoming vote, countless would abstain the vote.

The judgment creates a foreign relations issue for both nations. The Bangladesh government has asked her repatriation but until now India has shown no willingness to acquiesce.

The legal representative assigned to her her legal counsel said he was "disappointed and hoping the verdict had been different".

"I even cannot appeal because my defendants are not present; which is why I am sad," he continued.

Last week, Hasina's lawyers said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN highlighting significant due process and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial together with her previous domestic affairs official and top law enforcement officer.

Although the punishment provides certain resolution to kin of victims 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 diminished," a human rights advocate from the capital informed news organizations. "The leader and her faction has said sorry or demonstrated contrition for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The advocate declared "It makes it difficult for the organization to receive endorsement by a bulk of the population in this state."

The campaigner further stated that the punishment was not finality for the families of those killed and injured.

"We support numerous persons who lost their limbs forever, they are currently without limbs, as a result of the harsh measures. They cannot pardon her."

A journalist, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it particularly hard" for her party to become a standard element of the nation's political landscape again.

This could alter if "a form of contrition emerges and a separation from Sheikh Hasina and the previous administration," he expressed.