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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been given a death sentence for crimes against humanity due to her crackdown on protests led by students which caused her ousting.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of permitting fatal actions to be used against demonstrators, among whom around 1,400 people were killed during the disturbances in the previous year.

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

Legal authorities charged her of being responsible for hundreds of killings during the protests. Hasina has denied all charges, describing the process as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The verdict marks a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over years of repression. Relatives of the deceased and injured had demanded severe punishments.

Responding to the decision in a detailed document, she expressed the capital punishment was the temporary leadership's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a governing body and that she was content of her government's record on civil liberties.

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

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under increased safeguards prior to the decision on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina staging a rally and applauding as the judgment was announced.

The city has seen a sudden increase in unrest, 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 no victims identified, regional security representative the authorities' representative stated to press agencies.

The protest movement led by students last year began with requests to remove government job quotas but evolved into a more extensive dissent initiative.

United Nations rights examiners stated in a document in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could constitute "crimes against humanity".

The study recorded the shooting at point-blank range of certain demonstrators, the purposeful disabling of others, unwarranted detentions and torture.

Leaked audio of a call made by the former leader verified by external reviews earlier this year implied she had approved the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the legal process.

Ahead of the verdict, relatives of those killed during the protests informed press outlets they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

One relative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for the former leader and associates who have "committed acts of vengeance and abused their power".

Another relative, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "carried out before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the kin of victims [in the protests] will achieve closure in their hearts."

Following her removal, an interim government under the guidance of economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A general election is planned for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the Awami League, her political faction, was prohibited by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

Hasina warned last month that if the her faction's nominees were banned from standing in the upcoming election, countless would abstain the ballot.

This decision presents a foreign relations issue for both nations. Dhaka has formally requested her repatriation but so far India has expressed no readiness to agree.

The legal representative assigned to her the defense lawyer said he was "unhappy and desiring the decision had been otherwise".

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

Last week, the defense attorneys said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN pointing out serious fair trial and judicial process problems at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial together with her former home minister and top law enforcement officer.

While the sentence provides certain resolution to families of killed in the protests, it may not significantly ease the nation's partisan rifts.

"The fury directed at the former leader and the Awami League has not diminished," a human rights advocate from the capital stated to press agencies. "Neither she nor the party has said sorry or shown any remorse for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The activist stated "It makes it difficult for the organization to receive endorsement by a bulk of the population in this country."

The advocate continued that the sentence was not closure for the families of those who died and were wounded.

"We work with several people who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are currently without limbs, due to the crackdown. They will never be able to forgive her."

A journalist, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a regular participant of Bangladeshi politics again.

This could alter if "there is some kind of apology and a disassociation with Hasina and the former hierarchy," he stated.