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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 protests led by students which led to her ousting.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of authorizing deadly measures to be used against demonstrators, with approximately 1,400 individuals lost their lives during the disturbances last year.

Legal proceedings were conducted while she was absent by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being responsible for numerous deaths during the protests. Hasina has denied every accusation, calling the trial as "unfair and agenda-driven".

This judgment represents a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over extended periods of oppression. Families of those killed and wounded had demanded tough penalties.

Reacting to the verdict in a five-page statement, Hasina said the capital punishment was the caretaker administration's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a electoral entity and that she was proud of her administration's performance on civil liberties.

"I am not afraid to meet my challengers in a fair court where the evidence can be weighed and examined justly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under increased safeguards prior to the ruling on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina staging a rally and celebrating as the sentence was declared.

The city has seen a recent spike in disturbances, with dozens of bombs exploded and public transport vehicles burned in the days leading up to the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, regional security representative the authorities' representative informed news organizations.

The student-led uprising during 2024 began with demands to abolish government job quotas but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.

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

The study recorded the gunfire from minimal distance of some protesters, the intentional injuring of further participants, arbitrary arrests and abuse.

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

Prior to the ruling, relatives of those fatally injured in the unrest stated to news agencies they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

A family representative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for her and co-accused who have "committed acts of vengeance and misused their authority".

A different family member, 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".

"Exclusively thereafter the kin of victims [in the protests] will achieve closure in their hearts."

After her departure, an caretaker administration led by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A parliamentary election is planned for February 2026.

However, the Awami League, the former ruling party, was banned by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

The former leader cautioned in the previous month that if the her faction's nominees were prohibited from running in the forthcoming vote, millions would boycott the ballot.

The judgment creates a foreign relations issue for the neighboring countries. The Bangladesh government has asked her repatriation but so far India has demonstrated no inclination to comply.

The legal representative assigned to her Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "unhappy and desiring the outcome had varied".

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

Recently, her legal team said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN raising serious fair trial and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina together with her former home minister and top law enforcement officer.

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

"The anger against Hasina and the Awami League has not subsided," a Dhaka-based rights activist stated to news organizations. "Neither she nor the party has apologised or demonstrated contrition for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The activist stated "It makes it difficult for the organization to receive endorsement by a majority of people in this state."

The activist added that the punishment was not finality for the families 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."

A journalist, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it particularly hard" for her party to become a regular participant of Bangladeshi politics again.

This may change if "an expression of regret occurs and a separation from Sheikh Hasina and the former hierarchy," he stated.