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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been given a death sentence for crimes against humanity over her harsh response on youth demonstrations which resulted in her removal from power.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of allowing lethal force to be used against activists, with approximately 1,400 individuals lost their lives during the disturbances in the previous year.

Legal proceedings were conducted in absentia by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being behind numerous deaths during the protests. She has refuted every accusation, calling the trial as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

This judgment represents a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over years of repression. Next of kin of victims and wounded had demanded strict sentences.

Answering the judgment in a five-page statement, she expressed the death penalty was the interim government's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was content of her government's record on individual freedoms.

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

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under enhanced protection prior to the decision on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics organizing a demonstration and applauding as the sentence was declared.

Dhaka experienced a sudden increase in turmoil, with numerous incendiary devices set off and coaches ignited in the days leading up to the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, regional security representative Jisanul Haque stated to press agencies.

The student-led uprising during 2024 began with demands to abolish government job quotas but transformed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

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

The report documented the shooting at point-blank range of certain demonstrators, the deliberate maiming of further participants, arbitrary arrests and abuse.

Unauthorized recordings of one of Hasina's phone calls verified by media examinations during the current year suggested she had authorized the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the legal process.

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

A family representative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for her and co-accused who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and abused their power".

Lucky Akther, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "implemented before the election".

"Solely at that point the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will achieve closure in their souls."

Since Hasina's ousting, an temporary leadership under the guidance of economist Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A national vote is planned for February 2026.

However, the her former political organization, the former ruling party, was banned by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

She alerted in the previous month that if the her faction's nominees were barred from participating in the imminent electoral process, numerous would avoid the vote.

The verdict now poses a foreign relations issue for the neighboring countries. The Bangladesh government has asked her extradition but to date India has expressed no readiness to agree.

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

"I cannot even contest because my clients are absent; for that reason I am sad," he continued.

The previous week, her legal team said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN raising significant due process and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Hasina was tried together with her ex-interior minister and top law enforcement officer.

Even though the verdict grants partial finality to families of killed in the protests, it may do little to soothe the nation's partisan rifts.

"The resentment towards the former leader and the the former ruling faction has not decreased," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka informed press agencies. "Both she and the organization has apologised or demonstrated contrition for the killings of hundreds of people."

She said "It makes it difficult for the faction to gain approval by a most citizens in this nation."

The advocate continued that the sentence was not resolution for the families of those who died and were wounded.

"We support multiple individuals who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are amputees now, because of the suppression. They cannot pardon her."

David Bergman, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it even more difficult" for Awami League to become a normal feature of the nation's political landscape again.

This could alter if "there is some kind of apology and a distancing from Sheikh Hasina and the former hierarchy," he expressed.