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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been given a death sentence for crimes against humanity over her harsh response on protests led by students which led to her ousting.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of authorizing deadly measures to be used against protesters, 1,400 of whom lost their lives during the disturbances last year.

Legal proceedings were conducted without her presence by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being behind multiple fatalities during the protests. The former leader rejected the entire case, calling the trial as "unfair and agenda-driven".

This judgment represents a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over long-standing suppression. Families of those killed and injured had requested severe punishments.

Answering the judgment in a five-page statement, she expressed the capital punishment was the caretaker administration's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a political force and that she was proud of her administration's performance on individual freedoms.

"I have no trepidation to confront those accusing me in a proper tribunal where the proof can be evaluated and tested fairly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under tightened security prior to the verdict on Monday, with several of her detractors staging a rally and celebrating as the sentence was declared.

The city has seen a recent spike in turmoil, with numerous incendiary devices set off and coaches ignited in the period preceding the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, area law enforcement officer Jisanul Haque informed news organizations.

The student-led uprising in the previous year started with requests to remove public sector reservation policies but transformed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

International human rights monitors declared in an analysis in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could constitute "crimes against humanity".

The paper detailed the shooting at point-blank range of a number of activists, the intentional injuring of additional individuals, unjustified apprehensions and mistreatment.

Leaked audio of one of Hasina's phone calls authenticated by external reviews in previous months suggested she had approved the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the proceedings.

Ahead of the verdict, family members of those who died in the demonstrations informed media representatives they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

One relative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for her and co-accused who have "performed revengeful deeds and abused their power".

Lucky Akther, 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".

"Only then the kin of victims [in the protests] will find peace in their minds."

Since Hasina's ousting, an temporary leadership under the guidance of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A parliamentary election is scheduled for February 2026.

However, the Hasina's political party, her political faction, was prohibited by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

She alerted last month that if the her faction's nominees were prohibited from running in the forthcoming vote, millions would boycott the election.

The judgment creates a diplomatic challenge for the neighboring countries. The Bangladesh government has asked her repatriation but until now India has demonstrated no inclination to agree.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer the defense lawyer said he was "unhappy and desiring the outcome had varied".

"I am unable to challenge because my defendants are not present; which is why I am disheartened," he continued.

Recently, her legal team said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN pointing out significant due process and due process issues at the ICT.

Hasina was tried together with her previous domestic affairs official and top law enforcement officer.

While the sentence offers some closure to kin of victims in the protests, it may not significantly ease the state's ideological splits.

"The fury directed at Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League has not diminished," a Dhaka-based rights activist stated to media outlets. "Both she and the organization has expressed regret or displayed repentance for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The activist stated "This creates challenges for the party to be accepted by a most citizens in this nation."

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

"We support several people who suffered permanent amputations, they are amputees now, because of the suppression. They are incapable of excusing her."

An analyst, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it even more difficult" for her party 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 previous administration," he said.