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

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of permitting fatal actions to be used against protesters, with approximately 1,400 individuals lost their lives during the turmoil during 2024.

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.

The prosecution alleged of being behind hundreds of killings during the protests. The former leader rejected all charges, calling the trial as "unfair and agenda-driven".

This judgment represents a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over long-standing suppression. Families of those killed and injured had requested strict sentences.

Responding to the decision in a comprehensive declaration, she expressed the capital punishment was the interim government's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was satisfied of her leadership's history on individual freedoms.

"I am not afraid to meet my challengers in a proper tribunal where the evidence can be weighed and tested fairly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under increased safeguards ahead of the verdict on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina staging a rally and cheering as the verdict was read.

Dhaka experienced a recent spike in turmoil, with numerous incendiary devices set off and buses set on fire in the period preceding the verdict.

One explosive incident was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, local police official Jisanul Haque told press agencies.

The protest movement led by students last year started with calls to eliminate public sector reservation policies but transformed into a wider anti-government movement.

UN human rights investigators said in a report in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could constitute "human rights atrocities".

The study recorded the gunfire from minimal distance of some protesters, the intentional injuring of additional individuals, arbitrary arrests and abuse.

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader verified by investigative sources during the current year implied she had approved the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the legal process.

Ahead of the verdict, relatives of those fatally injured in the unrest told news agencies they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

One relative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for Hasina and others who have "committed acts of vengeance and abused their power".

A different family member, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "carried out before the election".

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

After her departure, an caretaker administration headed by economist Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A general election is planned for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the her former political organization, Hasina's political party, was banned by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

She alerted in the previous month that if the party's candidates were banned from standing in the forthcoming vote, numerous would avoid the election.

This decision presents a international dilemma for the neighboring countries. The Bangladesh government has asked her return but until now India has expressed no readiness to acquiesce.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer the defense lawyer said he was "unhappy and desiring the verdict had been different".

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

The previous week, Hasina's lawyers said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN pointing out serious fair trial and due process issues at the ICT.

Hasina was tried together with her former home minister and security forces head.

Even though the verdict grants partial finality to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may not significantly ease the state's ideological splits.

"The anger against Hasina and the her political party has not decreased," a human rights advocate from the capital stated to news organizations. "The leader and her faction has said sorry or demonstrated contrition for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The advocate declared "This complicates matters for the party to be accepted by a bulk of the population in this country."

The advocate continued that the sentence was not finality for the relatives of those killed and injured.

"We support multiple individuals who suffered permanent amputations, they are now disabled, due to the crackdown. They are incapable of excusing her."

David Bergman, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.

This might transform if "an expression of regret occurs and a disassociation with the former leader and the old leadership," he stated.