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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been sentenced to death for atrocities due to her crackdown on protests led by students which caused her removal from power.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of allowing lethal force to be used against demonstrators, with approximately 1,400 individuals died during the unrest last year.

The trial proceeded while she was absent by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being responsible for numerous deaths during the protests. Hasina has denied every accusation, calling the trial as "biased and politically motivated".

This judgment represents a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over long-standing suppression. Next of kin of victims and harmed had requested strict sentences.

Reacting to the verdict in a detailed document, the former leader stated the execution sentence was the temporary leadership's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was content of her administration's performance on human rights.

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

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under enhanced protection ahead of the verdict on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina organizing a demonstration and applauding as the verdict was read.

The capital witnessed a recent spike in disturbances, with dozens of bombs exploded and buses set on fire in the time before the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, regional security representative the authorities' representative told news organizations.

The student-led uprising during 2024 began with demands to abolish public sector reservation policies but transformed into a broader opposition campaign.

UN human rights investigators said in a report in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could represent "violations of human dignity".

The study recorded the gunfire from minimal distance of a number of activists, the purposeful disabling of further participants, unjustified apprehensions and mistreatment.

Disclosed sound files of a telephone conversation involving Hasina authenticated by investigative sources earlier this 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 informed press outlets they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

A family representative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for Hasina and others who have "performed revengeful deeds and exploited their positions".

Another relative, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "implemented before the election".

"Solely at that point the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will find peace in their hearts."

After her departure, an caretaker administration headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A national vote is scheduled for February 2026.

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

She alerted in the previous month that if the party's candidates were prohibited from running in the upcoming election, countless would abstain the election.

The verdict now poses a diplomatic challenge for the neighboring countries. The Bangladesh government has asked her return but so far India has expressed no readiness to agree.

The legal representative assigned to her her legal counsel said he was "unhappy and desiring the outcome had varied".

"I even cannot appeal because my defendants are not present; that's why I am disheartened," he added.

Recently, Hasina's lawyers said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN raising major judicial fairness and due process issues at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina in conjunction with her previous domestic affairs official and police chief.

Even though the verdict provides certain resolution to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may not significantly ease the country's political divisions.

"The anger against the former leader and the Awami League has not diminished," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka informed press agencies. "Neither she nor the party has said sorry or displayed repentance for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The advocate declared "This complicates matters for the party to be accepted by a most citizens in this country."

The activist added that the penalty was not closure for the kin of those who died and were wounded.

"We support several people who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are currently without limbs, as a result of the harsh measures. They are incapable of excusing her."

An analyst, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it particularly hard" for her party to become a standard element of Bangladeshi politics again.

This may change if "an expression of regret occurs and a separation from Sheikh Hasina and the previous administration," he stated.