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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 caused her removal from power.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of allowing lethal force to be used against demonstrators, 1,400 of whom were killed during the turmoil in the previous 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.

The prosecution alleged of being responsible for hundreds of killings during the protests. Hasina has denied the entire case, calling the trial as "biased and politically motivated".

This judgment represents a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over long-standing suppression. Relatives of the deceased and wounded had demanded severe punishments.

Responding to the decision in a detailed document, the former leader stated the death penalty was the caretaker administration's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a political force and that she was proud of her administration's performance on individual freedoms.

"I have no trepidation to face my accusers in a just legal forum where the facts can be assessed and reviewed impartially."

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

The capital witnessed a recent spike in unrest, with numerous incendiary devices set off and buses set on fire in the days leading up to the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, area law enforcement officer the police spokesperson informed press agencies.

The youth-driven revolt in the previous year began with demands to abolish state employment quotas but morphed into a broader opposition campaign.

International human rights monitors declared in an analysis in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could constitute "violations of human dignity".

The study recorded the gunfire from minimal distance of a number of activists, the intentional injuring of additional individuals, arbitrary arrests and abuse.

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader authenticated by investigative sources during the current year indicated she had sanctioned the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the trial.

Ahead of the verdict, kin of those killed during the protests told 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 her and co-accused who have "performed revengeful deeds and abused their power".

Lucky Akther, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "carried out before the election".

"Only then the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will find peace in their minds."

Following her removal, an caretaker administration under the guidance of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A parliamentary election is scheduled for February 2026.

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

The former leader cautioned last month that if the the League's representatives were banned from standing in the imminent electoral process, millions would boycott the ballot.

The verdict now poses a diplomatic challenge for both nations. Dhaka has formally requested her extradition but so far India has demonstrated no inclination to agree.

Her officially designated attorney her legal counsel said he was "unhappy and desiring the verdict had been different".

"I am unable to challenge because my clients are absent; for that reason I am disheartened," he stated further.

Last week, her legal team said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN highlighting significant due process and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial together with her ex-interior minister and security forces head.

While the sentence offers some closure to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may do little to soothe the country's political divisions.

"The resentment towards Sheikh Hasina and the her political party has not decreased," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka told news organizations. "Neither she nor the party has expressed regret or shown any remorse for the killings of hundreds of people."

She said "This complicates matters for the organization to receive endorsement by a majority of people in this country."

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

"We assist several people who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are amputees now, due to the crackdown. They cannot pardon her."

An analyst, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it even more difficult" for the political faction to become a standard element of Bangladeshi politics again.

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