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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been sentenced to death for crimes against humanity stemming from her crackdown on protests led by students which led to her forced departure.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of authorizing deadly measures to be used against activists, 1,400 of whom lost their lives during the disturbances in the previous year.

The trial proceeded without her presence by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being behind hundreds of killings during the protests. She has refuted the entire case, describing the process as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The decision signifies a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over years of repression. Relatives of the deceased and injured had requested severe punishments.

Responding to the decision in a five-page statement, Hasina said the execution sentence was the temporary leadership's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was content of her leadership's history on individual freedoms.

"I have no trepidation to meet my challengers in a fair court where the evidence can be weighed and examined justly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under tightened security prior to the verdict on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina organizing a demonstration and celebrating as the judgment was announced.

The capital witnessed a recent spike in unrest, with numerous incendiary devices set off and buses set on fire in the period preceding the verdict.

One explosive incident was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, local police official the authorities' representative told news organizations.

The student-led uprising last year commenced through calls to eliminate public sector reservation policies but evolved into a wider anti-government movement.

International human rights monitors declared in an analysis in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could amount to "violations of human dignity".

The report documented the gunfire from minimal distance of certain demonstrators, the purposeful disabling of others, arbitrary arrests and mistreatment.

Disclosed sound files of a telephone conversation involving Hasina verified by external reviews in previous months implied she had authorized the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the legal process.

Before the decision, relatives of those who died in the demonstrations told media representatives they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

A family representative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for the former leader and associates who have "performed revengeful deeds and abused their power".

Another relative, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "carried out before the election".

"Solely at that point the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will achieve closure in their souls."

Since Hasina's ousting, an caretaker administration led by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A parliamentary election is planned for February 2026.

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

The former leader cautioned in the previous month that if the the League's representatives were prohibited from running in the imminent electoral process, countless would abstain the ballot.

The verdict now poses a international dilemma for both nations. The Bangladesh government has asked her extradition but to date India has shown no willingness to acquiesce.

The legal representative assigned to her the defense lawyer said he was "disappointed and hoping 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.

Recently, her legal team said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN raising serious fair trial and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Hasina was tried alongside her previous domestic affairs official and top law enforcement officer.

Even though the verdict provides certain resolution to kin of victims in the protests, it may do little to soothe the nation's partisan rifts.

"The resentment towards Hasina and the Awami League has not subsided," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka told news organizations. "The leader and her faction has said sorry or shown any remorse for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The advocate declared "This creates challenges for the organization to receive endorsement by a majority of people in this nation."

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

"We assist numerous persons who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are now disabled, as a result of the harsh measures. They are incapable of excusing her."

A journalist, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it particularly hard" for Awami League to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.

This could alter if "a form of contrition emerges and a separation from the former leader and the former hierarchy," he expressed.