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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been sentenced to death for crimes against humanity due to her severe measures on student-led protests which caused her forced departure.

Hasina was declared culpable of allowing lethal force to be used against protesters, among whom around 1,400 people were killed during the turmoil in the previous year.

The trial proceeded while she was absent by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being the mastermind of multiple fatalities during the protests. She has refuted the entire case, calling the trial as "biased and politically motivated".

This judgment represents a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over extended periods of oppression. Next of kin of victims and injured 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 "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a political force and that she was proud of her administration's performance on individual freedoms.

"I have no trepidation to confront those accusing me in a proper tribunal where the proof can be evaluated and examined justly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under increased safeguards ahead of the ruling on Monday, with several of her detractors staging a rally and celebrating as the sentence was declared.

Dhaka experienced a recent spike in disturbances, with dozens of bombs exploded and coaches ignited in the days leading up to the verdict.

One explosive incident was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, area law enforcement officer the police spokesperson stated to news organizations.

The student-led uprising last year commenced through calls to eliminate state employment quotas but morphed into a broader opposition campaign.

United Nations rights examiners stated in a document in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could constitute "crimes against humanity".

The report documented the gunfire from minimal distance of a number of activists, the intentional injuring of others, unwarranted detentions and torture.

Leaked audio of a telephone conversation involving Hasina authenticated by investigative sources in previous months indicated she had approved the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the legal process.

Prior to the ruling, family members of those killed during the protests informed press outlets they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

One relative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for the former leader and associates who have "performed revengeful deeds and exploited their positions".

Lucky Akther, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "implemented before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the kin of victims [in the protests] will find peace in their minds."

Since Hasina's ousting, an temporary leadership under the guidance of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A national vote is set for February 2026.

However, the Awami League, the former ruling party, was prohibited by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

Hasina warned in the previous month that if the the League's representatives were prohibited from running in the upcoming election, millions would boycott the ballot.

The verdict now poses a international dilemma for India and Bangladesh. Dhaka has formally requested her return but until now India has expressed no readiness to acquiesce.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "disappointed and hoping the verdict had been different".

"I even cannot appeal because my clients are absent; which is why I am disappointed," he continued.

Last week, her legal team said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN highlighting significant due process and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial alongside her former home minister and police chief.

While the sentence offers some closure to kin of victims in the protests, it may do little to soothe the state's ideological splits.

"The resentment towards the former leader and the her political party has not diminished," a Dhaka-based rights activist informed media outlets. "Both she and the organization has said sorry or displayed repentance for the killings of hundreds of people."

The activist stated "This creates challenges for the organization to receive endorsement by a most citizens in this state."

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

"We work with several people who lost their limbs forever, they are amputees now, as a result of the harsh measures. They will never be able to forgive her."

A journalist, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it even more difficult" for Awami League to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.

This could alter if "a form of contrition emerges and a disassociation with the former leader and the previous administration," he said.