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

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of allowing lethal force to be used against protesters, with approximately 1,400 individuals lost their lives during the unrest last year.

The trial proceeded in absentia by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being the mastermind of numerous deaths during the protests. She has refuted the entire case, describing the process as "biased and politically motivated".

The decision signifies a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over extended periods of oppression. Relatives of the deceased and wounded had called for severe punishments.

Responding to the decision in a five-page statement, the former leader stated the capital punishment was the temporary leadership's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a political force and that she was satisfied of her administration's performance on human rights.

"I have no trepidation to meet my challengers in a just legal forum where the evidence can be weighed and reviewed impartially."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under increased safeguards prior to the verdict on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina holding a protest and cheering as the judgment was announced.

The city has seen a recent spike in disturbances, with multiple explosives detonated and buses set on fire in the time before the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, area law enforcement officer the authorities' representative told media outlets.

The youth-driven revolt in the previous year started with calls to eliminate government job quotas but transformed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

International human rights monitors said in a report in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could constitute "human rights atrocities".

The paper detailed the shooting at point-blank range of a number of activists, the purposeful disabling of further participants, arbitrary arrests and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of a telephone conversation involving Hasina verified by investigative sources earlier this year suggested she had approved the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the trial.

Prior to the ruling, family members of those fatally injured in the unrest stated to news agencies they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

Ramjan Ali, 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 partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "implemented before the election".

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

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

Nonetheless, the Awami League, her political faction, was outlawed by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

Hasina warned during the past month that if the the League's representatives were prohibited from running in the forthcoming vote, numerous would avoid the election.

The judgment creates a foreign relations issue for both nations. Authorities have sought her extradition but so far India has shown no willingness to agree.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer her legal counsel said he was "sad [and wishes] the outcome had varied".

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

Last week, Hasina's lawyers said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN raising major judicial fairness and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina together with her ex-interior minister and security forces head.

While the sentence offers some closure to kin of victims in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the country's political divisions.

"The anger against the former leader and the her political party has not decreased," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka stated to media outlets. "Both she and the organization has expressed regret or displayed repentance for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The activist stated "This creates challenges for the organization to receive endorsement by a most citizens in this nation."

The campaigner further stated that the penalty was not resolution for the families of those who died and were wounded.

"We work with multiple individuals who suffered permanent amputations, they are currently without limbs, because of the suppression. They are incapable of excusing her."

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

This may change if "there is some kind of apology and a disassociation with Hasina and the previous administration," he stated.