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

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of allowing lethal force to be used against activists, among whom around 1,400 people were killed during the turmoil during 2024.

Hasina was tried without her presence by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being behind multiple fatalities during the protests. Hasina has denied all charges, labeling the proceedings as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The verdict marks a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over extended periods of oppression. Next of kin of victims and injured had requested tough penalties.

Answering the judgment in a comprehensive declaration, the former leader stated the death penalty was the interim government's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a political force and that she was content of her leadership's history on human rights.

"I do not fear to face my accusers in a just legal forum where the facts can be assessed and reviewed impartially."

The capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under enhanced protection before the verdict on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics organizing a demonstration and celebrating as the verdict was read.

The city has seen a notable rise in unrest, with numerous incendiary devices set off and buses set on fire in the period preceding the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, local police official Jisanul Haque told press agencies.

The protest movement led by students last year commenced through calls to eliminate public sector reservation policies but transformed into a broader opposition campaign.

United Nations rights examiners stated in a document in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could represent "violations of human dignity".

The study recorded the shooting at point-blank range of a number of activists, the purposeful disabling of further participants, arbitrary arrests and mistreatment.

Unauthorized recordings of a telephone conversation involving Hasina verified by external reviews earlier this year indicated she had sanctioned the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the proceedings.

Prior to the ruling, relatives of those killed during the protests told press outlets they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

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 abused their power".

Lucky Akther, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "executed before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will find peace in their hearts."

Since Hasina's ousting, an interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A parliamentary election is planned for February 2026.

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

She alerted during the past month that if the her faction's nominees were banned from standing in the upcoming election, countless would abstain the vote.

The verdict now poses a foreign relations issue for India and Bangladesh. The Bangladesh government has asked her extradition but until now India has shown no willingness to comply.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "disappointed and hoping the decision had been otherwise".

"I am unable to challenge because my defendants are not present; for that reason I am sad," he stated further.

Recently, Hasina's lawyers said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN highlighting significant due process and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina alongside her previous domestic affairs official and top law enforcement officer.

Although the punishment offers some closure to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may do little to soothe the country's political divisions.

"The resentment towards the former leader and the Awami League has not diminished," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka informed media outlets. "Both she and the organization has apologised or displayed repentance for the fatalities of countless citizens."

She said "This creates challenges for the faction to gain approval by a majority of people in this state."

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

"We assist numerous persons who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are amputees now, because of the suppression. They are incapable of excusing her."

David Bergman, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a standard element of the nation's political landscape again.

This might transform if "a form of contrition emerges and a distancing from Hasina and the previous administration," he expressed.