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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been sentenced to death for atrocities over her crackdown on protests led by students which led to her removal from power.

Hasina was declared culpable of permitting fatal actions to be used against protesters, among whom around 1,400 people were killed during the turmoil during 2024.

Legal proceedings were conducted without her presence by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being the mastermind of numerous deaths during the protests. Hasina has denied all charges, calling the trial as "biased and politically motivated".

The verdict marks a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over long-standing suppression. Next of kin of victims and harmed had demanded tough penalties.

Reacting to the verdict in a comprehensive declaration, she expressed the capital punishment was the caretaker administration's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a political force and that she was content of her administration's performance on human rights.

"I am not afraid to confront those accusing me in a fair court where the evidence can be weighed and tested fairly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under increased safeguards ahead of the ruling on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina organizing a demonstration and applauding as the verdict was read.

Dhaka experienced a recent spike in unrest, with multiple explosives detonated and buses set on fire in the period preceding the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, local police official the police spokesperson stated to press agencies.

The youth-driven revolt in the previous year began with requests to remove government job quotas but transformed into a wider anti-government movement.

UN human rights investigators said in a report in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could represent "human rights atrocities".

The study recorded the firing at close quarters of certain demonstrators, the deliberate maiming of additional individuals, unwarranted detentions and mistreatment.

Disclosed sound files of a call made by the former leader verified by media examinations during the current year suggested she had approved the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the proceedings.

Before the decision, relatives of those killed during the protests stated to press outlets they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

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

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

"Only then the kin of victims [in the protests] will achieve closure in their hearts."

After her departure, an temporary leadership under the guidance of economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A national vote is set for February 2026.

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

Hasina warned in the previous month that if the the League's representatives were prohibited from running in the forthcoming vote, numerous would avoid the election.

The verdict now poses a foreign relations issue for India and Bangladesh. The Bangladesh government has asked her extradition but to date India has demonstrated no inclination to comply.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer her legal counsel said he was "sad [and wishes] the verdict had been different".

"I cannot even contest because my defendants are not present; for that reason I am sad," he continued.

Last week, Hasina's lawyers said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN highlighting major judicial fairness and due process issues at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina alongside her ex-interior minister and security forces head.

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

"The fury directed at the former leader and the Awami League has not decreased," a human rights advocate from the capital informed press agencies. "Both she and the organization has expressed regret or shown any remorse for the killings of hundreds of people."

The advocate declared "This complicates matters for the faction to gain approval by a majority of people in this country."

The activist added that the penalty was not closure for the families of those killed and injured.

"We assist several people who lost their limbs forever, they are amputees now, because of the suppression. They cannot pardon her."

A journalist, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a normal feature of the nation's political landscape again.

This may change if "there is some kind of apology and a separation from the former leader and the previous administration," he expressed.