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

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of authorizing deadly measures to be used against protesters, 1,400 of whom lost their lives during the turmoil during 2024.

Hasina was tried in absentia 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 the mastermind of multiple fatalities during the protests. The former leader rejected every accusation, calling the trial as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

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.

Answering the judgment in a five-page statement, the former leader stated the execution sentence was the interim government's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was satisfied of her administration's performance on civil liberties.

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

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under increased safeguards ahead of the decision on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina organizing a demonstration and celebrating as the sentence was declared.

Dhaka experienced a recent spike in disturbances, with dozens of bombs exploded and buses set on fire in the time before the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, local police official the police spokesperson stated to press agencies.

The student-led uprising in the previous year commenced through calls to eliminate government job quotas but transformed into a wider anti-government movement.

UN human rights investigators declared in an analysis in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could represent "human rights atrocities".

The paper detailed the shooting at point-blank range of some protesters, the deliberate maiming of additional individuals, unwarranted detentions and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of one of Hasina's phone calls confirmed by external reviews in previous months indicated she had authorized the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the proceedings.

Ahead of the verdict, family members of those fatally injured in the unrest stated to press outlets they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

One relative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for Hasina and others who have "committed acts of vengeance and exploited their positions".

A different family member, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "carried out before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will obtain solace in their hearts."

Following her removal, an interim government headed by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A parliamentary election is scheduled for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the her former political organization, her political faction, was outlawed by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

The former leader cautioned in the previous month that if the party's candidates were prohibited from running in the forthcoming vote, countless would abstain the vote.

The judgment creates a international dilemma for both nations. The Bangladesh government has asked her extradition but to date India has expressed no readiness to acquiesce.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer the defense lawyer said he was "sad [and wishes] the verdict had been different".

"I cannot even contest because my clients are absent; for that reason I am disappointed," he added.

The previous week, Hasina's lawyers said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN raising significant due process and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina together with her ex-interior minister and police chief.

Even though the verdict grants partial finality to kin of victims in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the country's political divisions.

"The anger against Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League has not subsided," a human rights advocate from the capital stated to news organizations. "The leader and her faction has apologised or shown any remorse for the killings of hundreds of people."

The activist stated "This complicates matters for the faction to gain approval by a most citizens in this country."

The activist added that the punishment was not closure for the kin of those killed and injured.

"We assist multiple individuals who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are currently without limbs, as a result of the harsh measures. They cannot pardon her."

David Bergman, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it even more difficult" for her party to become a normal feature of the country's governance system again.

This might transform if "an expression of regret occurs and a distancing from Hasina and the previous administration," he expressed.