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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 resulted in her ousting.

Hasina was declared culpable of permitting fatal actions to be used against demonstrators, among whom around 1,400 people died during the unrest last year.

The trial proceeded without her presence by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being the mastermind of multiple fatalities during the protests. She has refuted the entire case, calling the trial as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

This judgment represents a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over long-standing suppression. Relatives of the deceased and wounded had requested strict sentences.

Reacting to the verdict in a five-page statement, Hasina said the execution sentence was the interim government's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a political force and that she was proud of her leadership's history on individual freedoms.

"I do not fear to confront those accusing me in a proper tribunal where the facts can be assessed and reviewed impartially."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under enhanced protection prior to the verdict on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina holding a protest and cheering as the judgment was announced.

Dhaka experienced a recent spike in disturbances, with multiple explosives detonated and coaches ignited in the days leading up to the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, area law enforcement officer the police spokesperson told media outlets.

The protest movement led by students last year commenced through calls to eliminate government job quotas but evolved into a broader opposition campaign.

UN human rights investigators said in a report in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could amount to "crimes against humanity".

The study recorded the gunfire from minimal distance of a number of activists, the purposeful disabling of further participants, arbitrary arrests and torture.

Disclosed sound files of one of Hasina's phone calls authenticated by investigative sources during the current year suggested she had sanctioned the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the trial.

Before the decision, kin of those killed during the protests told news agencies they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

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

Lucky Akther, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "executed before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the families of those killed [in the protests] will find peace in their hearts."

Following her removal, an temporary leadership led by economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A national vote is set for February 2026.

However, the her former political organization, her political faction, was prohibited by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

Hasina warned in the previous month that if the her faction's nominees were prohibited from running in the forthcoming vote, numerous would avoid the ballot.

This decision presents a international dilemma for India and Bangladesh. Authorities have sought her repatriation but until now India has expressed no readiness to agree.

Her officially designated attorney her legal counsel said he was "disappointed and hoping the decision had been otherwise".

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

Recently, Hasina's lawyers said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN raising major judicial fairness and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina in conjunction with her former home minister and security forces head.

Although the punishment provides certain resolution to kin of victims in the protests, it may not significantly ease the country's political divisions.

"The resentment towards Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League has not decreased," a Dhaka-based rights activist stated to media outlets. "Both she and the organization has apologised or displayed repentance for the killings of hundreds of people."

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

The activist added that the punishment was not closure for the kin of those killed and injured.

"We work with numerous persons who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are now disabled, because of the suppression. They are incapable of excusing her."

David Bergman, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it increasingly challenging" for her party to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.

This may change if "an expression of regret occurs and a separation from Sheikh Hasina and the old leadership," he said.