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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 student-led protests which resulted in her forced departure.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of authorizing deadly measures to be used against demonstrators, among whom around 1,400 people were killed during the unrest last year.

Legal proceedings were conducted without her presence by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being behind hundreds of killings during the protests. She has refuted all charges, describing the process as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The verdict marks a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over extended periods of oppression. Families of those killed and harmed had demanded strict sentences.

Responding to the decision in a comprehensive declaration, she expressed the execution sentence was the caretaker administration's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was satisfied of her government's record on civil liberties.

"I have no trepidation to meet my challengers in a just legal forum where the proof can be evaluated and reviewed impartially."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under increased safeguards ahead of the ruling on Monday, with several of her detractors organizing a demonstration and celebrating as the judgment was announced.

The capital witnessed a recent spike in unrest, with multiple explosives detonated and coaches ignited in the time before the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, regional security representative Jisanul Haque stated to news organizations.

The protest movement led by students last year began with demands to abolish state employment quotas but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.

UN human rights investigators declared in an analysis in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could represent "crimes against humanity".

The report documented the firing at close quarters of a number of activists, the deliberate maiming of others, unjustified apprehensions and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader verified by investigative sources during the current year indicated she had approved the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the trial.

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

Ramjan Ali, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for Hasina and others who have "performed revengeful deeds and exploited their positions".

Lucky Akther, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "executed before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will achieve closure in their minds."

After her departure, an caretaker administration led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A national vote is planned for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the her former political organization, her political faction, was outlawed by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

She alerted last month that if the the League's representatives were banned from standing in the imminent electoral process, millions would boycott the vote.

This decision presents a foreign relations issue for both nations. Authorities have sought her extradition but so far India has demonstrated no inclination to comply.

Her officially designated attorney Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "sad [and wishes] the outcome had varied".

"I am unable to challenge because my represented individuals are away; for that reason I am sad," he added.

The previous week, her legal team said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN raising serious fair trial and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Hasina was tried in conjunction with her former home minister and top law enforcement officer.

Although the punishment offers some closure to families of killed in the protests, it may do little to soothe the nation's partisan rifts.

"The fury directed at Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League has not diminished," a human rights advocate from the capital stated to media outlets. "Both she and the organization has said sorry or displayed repentance for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The advocate declared "It makes it difficult for the faction to gain approval by a most citizens in this state."

The advocate continued that the penalty was not resolution for the families of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We support numerous persons who suffered permanent amputations, they are currently without limbs, because of the suppression. They cannot pardon her."

David Bergman, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it particularly hard" for Awami League to become a standard element of the country's governance system again.

This might transform if "there is some kind of apology and a distancing from the former leader and the former hierarchy," he said.