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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been sentenced to death for crimes against humanity due to her severe measures on student-led protests which led to her forced departure.

Hasina was declared culpable of authorizing deadly measures to be used against activists, 1,400 of whom lost their lives during the unrest during 2024.

Legal proceedings were conducted without her presence by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being the mastermind of numerous deaths during the protests. Hasina has denied all charges, calling the trial as "unfair and agenda-driven".

This judgment represents a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over extended periods of oppression. Families of those killed and wounded had demanded severe punishments.

Reacting to the verdict in a five-page statement, Hasina said the death penalty was the temporary leadership's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a political force and that she was content of her leadership's history on individual freedoms.

"I do not fear to face my accusers in a just legal forum where the evidence can be weighed and reviewed impartially."

The capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under increased safeguards before the decision on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina staging a rally and applauding as the sentence was declared.

Dhaka experienced a recent spike in unrest, with numerous incendiary devices set off and coaches ignited in the days leading up to the verdict.

One explosive incident was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, regional security representative the authorities' representative stated to media outlets.

The protest movement led by students in the previous year commenced through calls to eliminate public sector reservation policies but evolved into a wider anti-government movement.

UN human rights investigators said in a report in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could constitute "violations of human dignity".

The report documented the gunfire from minimal distance of some protesters, the purposeful disabling of additional individuals, arbitrary arrests and abuse.

Unauthorized recordings of a telephone conversation involving Hasina verified by external reviews during the current year suggested she had authorized the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the trial.

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

A family representative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for Hasina and others who have "performed revengeful deeds and abused their power".

A different family member, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "executed before the election".

"Only then the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will obtain solace in their hearts."

After her departure, an interim government headed by economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A parliamentary election is set for February 2026.

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

She alerted in the previous month that if the the League's representatives were prohibited from running in the forthcoming vote, millions would boycott the vote.

The judgment creates a foreign relations issue for both nations. Authorities have sought her repatriation but so far India has expressed no readiness to comply.

Her officially designated attorney Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "disappointed and hoping the decision had been otherwise".

"I cannot even contest because my clients are absent; that's why I am disappointed," he stated further.

Recently, her legal team said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN pointing out serious fair trial and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina alongside her previous domestic affairs official and police chief.

Although the punishment grants partial finality to families of killed in the protests, it may not significantly ease the nation's partisan rifts.

"The anger against Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League has not subsided," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka informed news organizations. "Both she and the organization has expressed regret or shown any remorse for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The activist stated "This creates challenges for the faction to gain approval by a most citizens in this nation."

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

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

David Bergman, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it particularly hard" for Awami League to become a regular participant of the country's governance system again.

This may change if "a form of contrition emerges and a separation from Hasina and the old leadership," he said.