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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been sentenced to death for crimes against humanity stemming from her crackdown on student-led protests which caused her removal from power.

Hasina was declared culpable of permitting fatal actions to be used against demonstrators, with approximately 1,400 individuals were killed during the disturbances during 2024.

Hasina was tried while she was absent by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being responsible for hundreds of killings during the protests. The former leader rejected the entire case, describing the process as "unfair and agenda-driven".

This judgment represents a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over years of repression. Next of kin of victims and harmed had called for strict sentences.

Responding to the decision in a detailed document, Hasina said the death penalty was the interim government's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a political force and that she was content of her administration's performance on individual freedoms.

"I have no trepidation to face my accusers in a proper tribunal where the evidence can be weighed and examined justly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under increased safeguards before the verdict on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina organizing a demonstration and celebrating as the verdict was read.

The city has seen a recent spike in unrest, with multiple explosives detonated and coaches ignited in the time before the verdict.

One explosive incident was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, local police official the police spokesperson stated to media outlets.

The protest movement led by students during 2024 began with requests to remove state employment quotas but transformed into a wider anti-government movement.

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

The paper detailed the gunfire from minimal distance of certain demonstrators, the purposeful disabling of additional individuals, unjustified apprehensions and mistreatment.

Leaked audio of a call made by the former leader confirmed by media examinations during the current year suggested she had authorized the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the proceedings.

Prior to the ruling, relatives of those who died in the demonstrations told news agencies they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

One relative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for her and co-accused who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and misused their authority".

A different family member, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty 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 temporary leadership headed by economist Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A national vote is scheduled for February 2026.

However, the Hasina's political party, her political faction, was outlawed by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

She alerted in the previous month that if the the League's representatives were prohibited from running in the imminent electoral process, numerous would avoid the ballot.

The verdict now poses a foreign relations issue for India and Bangladesh. Authorities have sought her return but until now India has demonstrated no inclination to comply.

Her officially designated attorney her legal counsel said he was "sad [and wishes] the verdict had been different".

"I am unable to challenge because my clients are absent; that's why I am disappointed," he continued.

Recently, the defense attorneys said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN highlighting major judicial fairness and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Hasina was tried alongside her former home minister and security forces head.

Even though the verdict grants partial finality to families of killed in the protests, it may do little to soothe the state's ideological splits.

"The fury directed at Sheikh Hasina and the her political party has not diminished," a Dhaka-based rights activist told news organizations. "Both she and the organization has expressed regret or displayed repentance for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The advocate declared "It makes it difficult for the faction to gain approval by a majority of people in this state."

The activist added that the sentence was not finality for the kin of those killed and injured.

"We work with several people who lost their limbs forever, they are now disabled, because of the suppression. They will never be able to forgive her."

An analyst, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it particularly hard" for her party to become a regular participant of Bangladeshi politics again.

This may change if "there is some kind of apology and a disassociation with Hasina and the old leadership," he said.