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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 student-led protests which resulted in her forced departure.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of permitting fatal actions to be used against activists, among whom around 1,400 people were killed during the disturbances during 2024.

Hasina was tried in absentia by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being the mastermind of multiple fatalities during the protests. She has refuted every accusation, labeling the proceedings as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The verdict marks a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over extended periods of oppression. Relatives of the deceased and harmed had requested severe punishments.

Responding to the decision in a detailed document, the former leader stated the death penalty was the interim government's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a electoral entity and that she was satisfied of her administration's performance on individual freedoms.

"I am not afraid to meet my challengers in a just legal forum where the evidence can be weighed and tested fairly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under enhanced protection prior to the decision on Monday, with several of her detractors staging a rally and celebrating as the sentence was declared.

The city has seen a sudden increase in turmoil, with multiple explosives detonated and public transport vehicles burned in the period preceding the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, regional security representative the police spokesperson informed media outlets.

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

United Nations rights examiners said in a report in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could amount to "violations of human dignity".

The study recorded the gunfire from minimal distance of a number of activists, the intentional injuring of further participants, unjustified apprehensions and abuse.

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader confirmed by external reviews earlier this year indicated she had sanctioned the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the proceedings.

Before the decision, relatives of those who died in the demonstrations informed news agencies they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

Ramjan Ali, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for her and co-accused who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and misused their authority".

A different family member, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "carried out before the election".

"Only then the families of those killed [in the protests] will find peace in their minds."

Since Hasina's ousting, an interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A national vote is set for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the Awami League, Hasina's political party, was prohibited by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

She alerted during the past month that if the the League's representatives were banned from standing in the imminent electoral process, millions would boycott the vote.

This decision presents a foreign relations issue for India and Bangladesh. Authorities have sought her return but until now India has expressed no readiness to agree.

Her officially designated attorney her legal counsel said he was "disappointed and hoping the decision had been otherwise".

"I even cannot appeal because my represented individuals are away; for that reason I am disheartened," he added.

Recently, her legal team said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN highlighting significant due process and due process issues at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina together with her previous domestic affairs official and security forces head.

While the sentence grants partial finality to families of killed in the protests, it may not significantly ease the state's ideological splits.

"The anger against Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not decreased," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka stated to media outlets. "Neither she nor the party has apologised 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 nation."

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

"We assist numerous persons who lost their limbs forever, they are now disabled, due to the crackdown. They are incapable of excusing her."

David Bergman, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it increasingly challenging" for her party to become a standard element of the nation's political landscape again.

This might transform if "an expression of regret occurs and a separation from Sheikh Hasina and the old leadership," he stated.