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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been given a death sentence for crimes against humanity due to her severe measures on student-led protests which caused her removal from power.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of permitting fatal actions to be used against protesters, among whom around 1,400 people lost their lives during the disturbances in the previous year.

Hasina was tried while she was absent by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being the mastermind of hundreds of killings during the protests. The former leader rejected every accusation, describing the process as "biased and politically motivated".

The decision signifies a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over long-standing suppression. Families of those killed and harmed had called for tough penalties.

Reacting to the verdict in a five-page statement, Hasina said the execution sentence was the caretaker administration's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a political force and that she was satisfied of her leadership's history on individual freedoms.

"I am not afraid to meet my challengers in a just legal forum where the facts can be assessed and tested fairly."

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

The capital witnessed a sudden increase in disturbances, with numerous incendiary devices set off and buses set on fire in the period preceding the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, local police official the police spokesperson stated to press agencies.

The protest movement led by students during 2024 started with requests to remove state employment quotas but morphed into a broader opposition campaign.

United Nations rights examiners stated in a document 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 a number of activists, the intentional injuring of additional individuals, unjustified apprehensions and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader authenticated by external reviews in previous months indicated she had authorized the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the trial.

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 sibling was killed 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 Hasina's sentence to be "implemented before the election".

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

After her departure, an interim government under the guidance of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A national vote is set for February 2026.

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

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

This decision presents a foreign relations issue for both nations. The Bangladesh government has asked her repatriation but until now India has shown no willingness to agree.

The legal representative assigned to her Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "sad [and wishes] the outcome had varied".

"I cannot even contest because my represented individuals are away; which is why I am sad," he added.

The previous week, Hasina's lawyers said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN pointing out significant due process and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial alongside her ex-interior minister and top law enforcement officer.

Although the punishment provides certain resolution to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may not significantly ease the nation's partisan rifts.

"The resentment towards Sheikh Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not subsided," a human rights advocate from the capital told press agencies. "Both she and the organization has apologised or displayed repentance for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The activist stated "This complicates matters for the organization to receive endorsement by a bulk of the population in this state."

The campaigner further stated that the punishment was not closure for the relatives of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We support several people who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are now disabled, because of the suppression. They will never be able to forgive her."

An analyst, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it even more difficult" for the political faction to become a regular participant of Bangladeshi politics again.

This may change if "a form of contrition emerges and a separation from Hasina and the former hierarchy," he expressed.