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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been sentenced to death for atrocities due to her crackdown on youth demonstrations which led to her removal from power.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of allowing lethal force to be used against activists, with approximately 1,400 individuals died during the disturbances last year.

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

Legal authorities charged her of being responsible for numerous deaths during the protests. The former leader rejected all charges, labeling the proceedings as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The decision signifies a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over extended periods of oppression. Relatives of the deceased and harmed had requested severe punishments.

Answering the judgment in a five-page statement, she expressed the capital punishment was the interim government's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was content of her government's record on human rights.

"I have no trepidation to confront those accusing me in a just legal forum where the proof can be evaluated and reviewed impartially."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under tightened security prior to the decision on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina holding a protest and celebrating as the verdict was read.

The city has seen a sudden increase in disturbances, with numerous incendiary devices set off and coaches ignited in the time before the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, regional security representative Jisanul Haque told media outlets.

The protest movement led by students last year commenced through demands to abolish government job quotas but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.

UN human rights investigators said in a report in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could constitute "crimes against humanity".

The study recorded the firing at close quarters of a number of activists, the deliberate maiming of further participants, unjustified apprehensions and torture.

Disclosed sound files of one of Hasina's phone calls authenticated by investigative sources in previous months suggested she had approved the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the trial.

Before the decision, kin of those fatally injured in the unrest stated to press outlets they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

One relative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for Hasina and others who have "committed acts of vengeance and exploited their positions".

Another relative, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "implemented before the election".

"Only then the families of those killed [in the protests] will find peace in their minds."

Following her removal, an interim government headed by economist Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A national vote is set for February 2026.

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

Hasina warned during the past month that if the her faction's nominees were banned from standing in the upcoming election, millions would boycott the election.

The verdict now poses a diplomatic challenge for both nations. The Bangladesh government has asked her extradition but to date India has expressed no readiness to comply.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "unhappy and desiring the decision had been otherwise".

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

Recently, her legal team said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN pointing out 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 do little to soothe the country's political divisions.

"The fury directed at the former leader and the her political party has not diminished," a Dhaka-based rights activist stated to press agencies. "Both she and the organization has expressed regret or displayed repentance for the killings of hundreds of people."

The activist stated "It makes it difficult for the party to be accepted by a bulk of the population in this state."

The campaigner further stated that the penalty was not finality for the kin of those killed and injured.

"We assist several people who suffered permanent amputations, they are amputees now, due to the crackdown. They cannot pardon her."

An analyst, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it even more difficult" for Awami League to become a standard element of the country's governance system again.

This might transform if "an expression of regret occurs and a distancing from Sheikh Hasina and the previous administration," he stated.