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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 led to her forced departure.

Hasina was declared culpable of allowing lethal force to be used against protesters, with approximately 1,400 individuals died during the disturbances last year.

Hasina was tried while she was absent 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 the mastermind of multiple fatalities during the protests. Hasina has denied every accusation, calling the trial as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

This judgment represents a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over extended periods of oppression. Next of kin of victims and harmed had requested strict sentences.

Reacting to the verdict in a five-page statement, the former leader stated the execution sentence was the caretaker administration's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a political force and that she was satisfied of her leadership's history on civil liberties.

"I am not afraid to face my accusers in a fair court where the facts can be assessed and tested fairly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under tightened security prior to the ruling on Monday, with several of her detractors staging a rally and celebrating as the judgment was announced.

The city has seen a notable rise in unrest, with dozens of bombs exploded and buses set on fire in the time before the verdict.

One explosive incident was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, area law enforcement officer Jisanul Haque informed news organizations.

The protest movement led by students last year started with demands to abolish state employment quotas but evolved into a broader opposition campaign.

UN human rights investigators stated in a document in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could represent "human rights atrocities".

The paper detailed the gunfire from minimal distance of some protesters, the deliberate maiming of additional individuals, unwarranted detentions and torture.

Disclosed sound files of a call made by the former leader authenticated by media examinations during the current year suggested she had authorized the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the legal process.

Prior to the ruling, kin of those fatally injured in the unrest told media representatives they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

A family representative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for the former leader and associates who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and misused their authority".

Another relative, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "executed before the election".

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

Since Hasina's ousting, an interim government under the guidance of economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A national vote is planned for February 2026.

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

Hasina warned in the previous month that if the party's candidates were prohibited from running in the upcoming election, numerous would avoid the ballot.

The verdict now poses a diplomatic challenge for both nations. Dhaka has formally requested her return but so far India has demonstrated no inclination to agree.

Her officially designated attorney Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "disappointed and hoping the verdict had been different".

"I am unable to challenge because my clients are absent; that's why I am disheartened," he stated further.

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

Hasina was tried alongside her former home minister and top law enforcement officer.

Even though the verdict offers some closure to families of killed in the protests, it may not significantly ease the state's ideological splits.

"The resentment towards Hasina and the Awami League has not subsided," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka informed news organizations. "The leader and her faction has expressed regret or demonstrated contrition for the killings of hundreds of people."

The activist stated "It makes it difficult for the party to be accepted by a majority of people in this state."

The advocate continued that the penalty was not closure for the relatives of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We support numerous persons who lost their limbs forever, they are currently without limbs, because of the suppression. They will never be able to forgive her."

David Bergman, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it increasingly challenging" for Awami League to become a standard element of the nation's political landscape again.

This might transform if "there is some kind of apology and a distancing from Hasina and the old leadership," he stated.