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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been sentenced to death for atrocities due to her crackdown on student-led protests which resulted in 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 turmoil in the previous year.

Hasina was tried without her presence by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being behind numerous deaths during the protests. Hasina has denied the entire case, labeling the proceedings as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

This judgment represents a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over extended periods of oppression. Families of those killed and harmed had requested tough penalties.

Reacting to the verdict in a comprehensive declaration, Hasina said the execution sentence was the caretaker administration's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a governing body and that she was satisfied of her administration's performance on human rights.

"I have no trepidation to meet my challengers in a just legal forum where the proof can be evaluated and tested fairly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under enhanced protection ahead of the decision on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics organizing a demonstration and celebrating as the sentence was declared.

The city has seen a recent spike in disturbances, with dozens of bombs exploded and coaches ignited in the time before the verdict.

One explosive incident was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, area law enforcement officer the police spokesperson told press agencies.

The student-led uprising in the previous year started with requests to remove public sector reservation policies but morphed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

United Nations rights examiners said in a report in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could represent "crimes against humanity".

The report documented the gunfire from minimal distance of some protesters, the purposeful disabling of further participants, unwarranted detentions and torture.

Disclosed sound files of a call made by the former leader confirmed by investigative sources in previous months indicated she had sanctioned the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the legal process.

Before the decision, kin of those fatally injured in the unrest told press outlets they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

A family representative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for Hasina and others who have "committed acts of vengeance and exploited their positions".

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

"Solely at that point the kin of victims [in the protests] will find peace in their souls."

Following her removal, an caretaker administration led by economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A national vote is set for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the Awami League, her political faction, was prohibited by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

The former leader cautioned during the past month that if the the League's representatives were prohibited from running in the forthcoming vote, millions would boycott the election.

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

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer the defense lawyer said he was "sad [and wishes] the decision had been otherwise".

"I cannot even contest because my clients are absent; for that reason I am disheartened," he stated further.

Recently, her legal team said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN raising major judicial fairness and due process issues at the ICT.

Hasina was tried together with her former home minister and police chief.

While the sentence provides certain resolution to kin of victims in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the state's ideological splits.

"The resentment towards the former leader and the her political party has not decreased," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka stated to press agencies. "The leader and her faction has said sorry or displayed repentance for the fatalities of countless citizens."

She said "This creates challenges for the party to be accepted by a bulk of the population in this country."

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

"We work with several people who lost their limbs forever, they are currently without limbs, due to the crackdown. They cannot pardon her."

A journalist, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a standard element of Bangladeshi politics again.

This might transform if "an expression of regret occurs and a disassociation with the former leader and the previous administration," he expressed.