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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been sentenced to death for crimes against humanity stemming from her harsh response on student-led protests which resulted in her removal from power.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of allowing lethal force to be used against activists, among whom around 1,400 people were killed during the unrest last year.

Hasina was tried in absentia by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being behind hundreds of killings during the protests. She has refuted all charges, calling the trial as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The verdict marks a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over long-standing suppression. Families of those killed and wounded had demanded strict sentences.

Responding to the decision in a comprehensive declaration, she expressed the execution sentence was the interim government's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was content of her leadership's history on human rights.

"I am not afraid to confront those accusing me in a just legal forum where the proof can be evaluated 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 staging a rally and cheering as the sentence was declared.

The city has seen a recent spike in turmoil, with dozens of bombs exploded and buses set on fire in the days leading up to the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, local police official Jisanul Haque stated to media outlets.

The student-led uprising last year commenced through calls to eliminate state employment quotas but transformed into a broader opposition campaign.

United Nations rights examiners said in a report in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could amount to "violations of human dignity".

The study recorded the shooting at point-blank range of some protesters, the intentional injuring of additional individuals, unjustified apprehensions and torture.

Disclosed sound files of one of Hasina's phone calls authenticated by external reviews earlier this year implied she had authorized the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the proceedings.

Before the decision, family members of those who died in the demonstrations told news agencies they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

One relative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for her and co-accused who have "performed revengeful deeds and abused their power".

Another relative, 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".

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

Following her removal, an interim government led by economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A general election is set for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the Hasina's political party, Hasina's political party, was outlawed by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

The former leader cautioned last month that if the party's candidates were barred from participating in the forthcoming vote, countless would abstain the election.

This decision presents a diplomatic challenge for India and Bangladesh. The Bangladesh government has asked her extradition but until now India has demonstrated no inclination to agree.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer her legal counsel said he was "disappointed and hoping the verdict had been different".

"I cannot even contest because my clients are absent; which is why I am disheartened," he stated further.

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

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

Even though the verdict offers some closure to kin of victims in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the nation's partisan rifts.

"The fury directed at Hasina and the her political party has not decreased," a human rights advocate from the capital told press agencies. "The leader and her faction has expressed regret or shown any remorse for the fatalities of countless citizens."

She said "It makes it difficult for the party to be accepted by a most citizens in this state."

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

"We assist multiple individuals who lost their limbs forever, they are currently without limbs, due to the crackdown. They will never be able to forgive her."

David Bergman, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a standard element of the country's governance system again.

This could alter if "there is some kind of apology and a separation from the former leader and the old leadership," he stated.