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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been sentenced to death for atrocities over her crackdown on student-led protests which led to her removal from power.

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

Hasina was tried without her presence by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being the mastermind of multiple fatalities during the protests. Hasina has denied every accusation, describing the process as "biased and politically motivated".

This judgment represents a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over years of repression. Relatives of the deceased and wounded had called for tough penalties.

Answering the judgment in a five-page statement, she expressed the execution sentence was the interim government's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a electoral entity and that she was content of her administration's performance on individual freedoms.

"I do not fear to face my accusers in a fair court where the proof can be evaluated and tested fairly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under tightened security before the decision on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics staging a rally and cheering as the sentence was declared.

The city has seen a sudden increase in unrest, with dozens of bombs exploded and buses set on fire in the time before the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, local police official the police spokesperson informed news organizations.

The youth-driven revolt in the previous year began with calls to eliminate public sector reservation policies but evolved into a more extensive dissent initiative.

United Nations rights examiners said in a report in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could constitute "human rights atrocities".

The report documented the shooting at point-blank range of some protesters, the deliberate maiming of further participants, arbitrary arrests and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of one of Hasina's phone calls verified by media examinations in previous months suggested she had approved the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the trial.

Ahead of the verdict, kin of those fatally injured in the unrest informed media representatives they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

Ramjan Ali, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for the former leader and associates who have "committed acts of vengeance and misused their authority".

Lucky Akther, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "executed before the election".

"Solely at that point the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will achieve closure in their hearts."

After her departure, an interim government headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A parliamentary election is scheduled for February 2026.

However, the her former political organization, Hasina's political party, was outlawed by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

She alerted in the previous month that if the party's candidates were banned from standing in the upcoming election, countless would abstain the vote.

The judgment creates a international dilemma for the neighboring countries. Authorities have sought her return but to date India has shown no willingness to comply.

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

"I even cannot appeal because my represented individuals are away; which is why I am disappointed," he stated further.

The previous week, the defense attorneys said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN raising major judicial fairness and due process issues at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial alongside her previous domestic affairs official and security forces head.

While the sentence grants partial finality to families of killed in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the nation's partisan rifts.

"The anger against the former leader and the her political party has not decreased," a Dhaka-based rights activist told press agencies. "Neither she nor the party has said sorry or displayed repentance for the killings of hundreds of people."

The advocate declared "This complicates matters for the organization to receive endorsement by a most citizens in this state."

The activist added that the sentence was not resolution for the kin of those killed and injured.

"We work with numerous persons who lost their limbs forever, they are amputees now, due to the crackdown. They are incapable of excusing her."

A journalist, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it even more difficult" for her party to become a standard element of Bangladeshi politics again.

This could alter if "there is some kind of apology and a disassociation with Hasina and the previous administration," he said.