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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been given a death sentence for crimes against humanity over her severe measures on protests led by students which caused her ousting.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of allowing lethal force to be used against demonstrators, among whom around 1,400 people lost their lives during the disturbances in the previous year.

Hasina was tried in absentia by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being responsible for hundreds of killings during the protests. The former leader rejected all charges, calling the trial as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

This judgment represents a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over years of repression. Next of kin of victims and injured had requested tough penalties.

Answering the judgment in a comprehensive declaration, the former leader stated the execution sentence was the interim government's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a governing body and that she was satisfied of her leadership's history on individual freedoms.

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

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under increased safeguards prior to the decision on Monday, with several of her detractors organizing a demonstration and celebrating as the verdict was read.

Dhaka experienced a sudden increase in turmoil, with numerous incendiary devices set off and public transport vehicles burned in the days leading up to the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, regional security representative the authorities' representative informed news organizations.

The protest movement led by students during 2024 began with demands to abolish government job quotas but transformed into a broader opposition campaign.

International human rights monitors stated in a document in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could represent "crimes against humanity".

The paper detailed the shooting at point-blank range of a number of activists, the deliberate maiming of further participants, unwarranted detentions and mistreatment.

Unauthorized recordings of a telephone conversation involving Hasina confirmed by media examinations in previous months suggested she had authorized the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the trial.

Ahead of the verdict, family members of those who died in the demonstrations stated to press outlets they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

One relative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for the former leader and associates who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and exploited their positions".

A different family member, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "carried out 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 led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A parliamentary election is planned for February 2026.

However, the her former political organization, Hasina's political party, was banned by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

Hasina warned during the past month that if the her faction's nominees were barred from participating in the imminent electoral process, countless would abstain the election.

The verdict now poses a diplomatic challenge for India and Bangladesh. The Bangladesh government has asked her extradition but so far India has demonstrated no inclination to acquiesce.

The legal representative assigned to her Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "unhappy and desiring the decision had been otherwise".

"I cannot even contest because my represented individuals are away; which is why I am sad," he added.

Last week, the defense attorneys said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN pointing out significant due process and judicial process problems at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial together with her ex-interior minister and top law enforcement officer.

Even though the verdict grants partial finality to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may do little to soothe the state's ideological splits.

"The fury directed at Sheikh Hasina and the her political party has not diminished," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka told media outlets. "Neither she nor the party has expressed regret or shown any remorse for the killings of hundreds of people."

The activist stated "This creates challenges for the party to be accepted by a most citizens in this country."

The activist added that the penalty was not finality for the relatives of those killed and injured.

"We support numerous persons who lost their limbs forever, they are now disabled, because of the suppression. They cannot pardon her."

A journalist, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it particularly hard" for Awami League to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.

This may change if "a form of contrition emerges and a distancing from Sheikh Hasina and the former hierarchy," he said.