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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been sentenced to death for crimes against humanity stemming from her crackdown on student-led protests which resulted in her ousting.

Hasina was declared culpable of permitting fatal actions to be used against activists, with approximately 1,400 individuals lost their lives during the disturbances last year.

The trial proceeded while she was absent by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being responsible for numerous deaths during the protests. The former leader rejected every accusation, labeling the proceedings as "biased and politically motivated".

The verdict marks a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over years of repression. Next of kin of victims and wounded had demanded strict sentences.

Reacting to the verdict in a five-page statement, she expressed the execution sentence was the caretaker administration's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a governing body and that she was content of her leadership's history on civil liberties.

"I do not fear to face my accusers in a just legal forum where the proof can be evaluated and examined justly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under tightened security ahead of 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 turmoil, with multiple explosives detonated and buses set on fire in the period preceding the verdict.

One explosive incident was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, regional security representative the authorities' representative informed press agencies.

The student-led uprising last year began with demands to abolish state employment quotas but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.

International human rights monitors stated in a document in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could constitute "human rights atrocities".

The study recorded the gunfire from minimal distance of a number of activists, the deliberate maiming of further participants, unjustified apprehensions and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of a telephone conversation involving Hasina verified by media examinations earlier this year indicated she had sanctioned the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the legal process.

Ahead of the verdict, family members of those fatally injured in the unrest stated to news agencies they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

One relative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" 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 the former leader's punishment to be "executed before the election".

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

Following her removal, an caretaker administration headed by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A general election is scheduled for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the her former political organization, the former ruling party, was outlawed by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

Hasina warned in the previous month that if the party's candidates were banned from standing in the upcoming election, numerous would avoid the ballot.

The verdict now poses a international dilemma for both nations. The Bangladesh government has asked her repatriation but so far India has expressed no readiness to agree.

Her officially designated attorney her legal counsel said he was "sad [and wishes] the decision had been otherwise".

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

Last week, her legal team said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN raising significant due process and due process issues at the ICT.

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

Although the punishment offers some closure to kin of victims in the protests, it may not significantly ease the nation's partisan rifts.

"The fury directed at the former leader and the her political party has not subsided," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka stated to press agencies. "Neither she nor the party has expressed regret or shown any remorse for the deaths of numerous individuals."

She said "This complicates matters for the party to be accepted by a bulk of the population in this country."

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

"We assist several people who suffered permanent amputations, they are currently without limbs, because of the suppression. They cannot pardon her."

A journalist, 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 might transform if "an expression of regret occurs and a disassociation with the former leader and the old leadership," he stated.