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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been given a death sentence for atrocities due to her severe measures on student-led protests which led to her removal from power.

Hasina was declared culpable of permitting fatal actions to be used against protesters, 1,400 of whom died during the unrest last year.

The trial proceeded without her presence by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being responsible for numerous deaths during the protests. Hasina has denied all charges, labeling the proceedings as "biased and politically motivated".

The verdict marks a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over extended periods of oppression. Families of those killed and wounded had demanded severe punishments.

Responding to the decision in a five-page statement, Hasina said the death penalty was the interim government's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a governing body and that she was content of her administration's performance on human rights.

"I do not fear to face my accusers in a just legal forum where the proof can be evaluated and tested fairly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under enhanced protection ahead of the verdict on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics holding a protest and applauding as the sentence was declared.

Dhaka experienced a sudden increase in disturbances, with multiple explosives detonated and buses set on fire in the period preceding the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, local police official Jisanul Haque told media outlets.

The protest movement led by students in the previous year commenced through calls to eliminate government job quotas but evolved into a broader opposition campaign.

UN human rights investigators said in a report in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could amount to "crimes against humanity".

The study recorded the firing at close quarters of certain demonstrators, the purposeful disabling of others, unjustified apprehensions and torture.

Disclosed sound files of a call made by the former leader authenticated by external reviews during the current year implied she had approved the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the legal process.

Prior to the ruling, relatives of those fatally injured in the unrest stated to media representatives they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

Ramjan Ali, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for Hasina and others who have "performed revengeful deeds and abused their power".

Lucky Akther, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "executed before the election".

"Only then the kin of victims [in the protests] will obtain solace in their minds."

After her departure, an temporary leadership led by economist Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A parliamentary election is scheduled for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the her former political organization, her political faction, was banned by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

Hasina warned in the previous month that if the the League's representatives were banned from standing in the forthcoming vote, numerous would avoid the ballot.

The judgment creates a foreign relations issue for both nations. Dhaka has formally requested her return but so far India has expressed no readiness to agree.

The legal representative assigned to her the defense lawyer said he was "sad [and wishes] the verdict had been different".

"I even cannot appeal because my defendants are not present; for that reason 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.

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

While the sentence offers some closure to kin of victims in the protests, it may do little to soothe the nation's partisan rifts.

"The anger against Sheikh Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not subsided," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka told media outlets. "The leader and her faction has said sorry or shown any remorse for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The advocate declared "It makes it difficult for the party to be accepted by a bulk of the population in this state."

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

"We assist numerous persons who underwent irreversible limb loss, 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 "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it increasingly challenging" for Awami League to become a normal feature of the nation's political landscape again.

This could alter if "a form of contrition emerges and a separation from Sheikh Hasina and the former hierarchy," he stated.