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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been sentenced to death for crimes against humanity due to her harsh response on protests led by students which resulted in her removal from power.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of authorizing deadly measures to be used against demonstrators, among whom around 1,400 people were killed during the turmoil during 2024.

Legal proceedings were conducted without her presence by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being responsible for hundreds of killings during the protests. The former leader rejected the entire case, labeling the proceedings as "biased and politically motivated".

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

Answering the judgment in a five-page statement, Hasina said the death penalty was the interim government's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was satisfied of her government's record on individual freedoms.

"I have no trepidation to face my accusers in a fair court where the facts can be assessed and examined justly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under enhanced protection ahead of the verdict on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics holding a protest and applauding as the verdict was read.

Dhaka experienced a recent spike in disturbances, with numerous incendiary devices set off and public transport vehicles burned in the period preceding the verdict.

One explosive incident was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, regional security representative Jisanul Haque informed news organizations.

The protest movement led by students last year commenced through requests to remove state employment quotas but transformed into a broader opposition campaign.

United Nations rights examiners said in a report in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could represent "violations of human dignity".

The paper detailed the gunfire from minimal distance of certain demonstrators, the intentional injuring of additional individuals, unjustified apprehensions and abuse.

Disclosed sound files of one of Hasina's phone calls authenticated by external reviews in previous months suggested she had approved the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the proceedings.

Ahead of the verdict, kin of those who died in the demonstrations stated to news agencies 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 "performed revengeful deeds and exploited their positions".

Lucky Akther, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "carried out before the election".

"Only then the kin of victims [in the protests] will achieve closure in their souls."

Following her removal, an interim government led by economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A national vote is planned for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the Hasina's political party, the former ruling party, was banned by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

She alerted in the previous month that if the the League's representatives were barred from participating in the forthcoming vote, numerous would avoid the vote.

This decision presents a international dilemma for India and Bangladesh. The Bangladesh government has asked her repatriation but so far India has expressed no readiness to acquiesce.

The legal representative assigned to her Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "unhappy and desiring the verdict had been different".

"I am unable to challenge because my defendants are not present; which is why I am sad," he continued.

Last week, her legal team said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN highlighting serious fair trial and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial in conjunction with her ex-interior minister and security forces head.

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

"The fury directed at Hasina and the her political party has not decreased," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka informed media outlets. "Neither she nor the party has expressed regret or displayed repentance for the killings of hundreds of people."

The advocate declared "This complicates matters for the organization to receive endorsement by a most citizens in this country."

The advocate continued that the punishment was not resolution for the kin of those killed and injured.

"We support numerous persons who lost their limbs forever, they are amputees now, due to the crackdown. They will never be able to forgive her."

David Bergman, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it even more difficult" for her party to become a regular participant of the nation's political landscape again.

This might transform if "a form of contrition emerges and a separation from Hasina and the former hierarchy," he expressed.