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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been sentenced to death for crimes against humanity stemming from her harsh response on student-led protests which caused her ousting.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of permitting fatal actions to be used against demonstrators, among whom around 1,400 people died during the turmoil during 2024.

The trial proceeded while she was absent by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being responsible for hundreds of killings during the protests. The former leader rejected all charges, calling the trial as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The verdict marks a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over long-standing suppression. Families of those killed and harmed had requested strict sentences.

Responding to the decision in a five-page statement, the former leader stated 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 leadership's history on civil liberties.

"I am not afraid to face my accusers in a fair court where the facts can be assessed and tested fairly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under enhanced protection ahead of the decision on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina holding a protest and celebrating as the sentence was declared.

The capital witnessed a recent spike in unrest, with dozens of bombs exploded and public transport vehicles burned in the period preceding the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, area law enforcement officer the police spokesperson stated to news organizations.

The student-led uprising during 2024 started with calls to eliminate state employment quotas but transformed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

International human rights monitors stated in a document in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could constitute "crimes against humanity".

The paper detailed the firing at close quarters of some protesters, the intentional injuring of further participants, unjustified apprehensions and torture.

Disclosed sound files of one of Hasina's phone calls authenticated by external reviews earlier this year suggested she had authorized the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the legal process.

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

Ramjan Ali, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for her and co-accused who have "committed acts of vengeance and abused their power".

A different family member, 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 families of those killed [in the protests] will achieve closure in their hearts."

After her departure, an caretaker administration led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A parliamentary election is scheduled for February 2026.

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

She alerted last month that if the the League's representatives were barred from participating in the imminent electoral process, numerous would avoid the election.

The judgment creates a foreign relations issue for India and Bangladesh. Dhaka has formally requested her extradition but until now India has demonstrated no inclination to agree.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer her legal counsel 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, her legal team 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 former home minister and police chief.

While the sentence grants partial finality to kin of victims in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the country's political divisions.

"The anger against the former leader and the Awami League has not decreased," a Dhaka-based rights activist told press agencies. "Both she and the organization has said sorry or shown any remorse for the fatalities of countless citizens."

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

The activist added that the punishment was not resolution for the relatives of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We work with multiple individuals who suffered permanent amputations, they are currently without limbs, as a result of the harsh measures. They will never be able to forgive her."

An analyst, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it particularly hard" for her party to become a standard element of the country's governance system again.

This may change if "there is some kind of apology and a distancing from Sheikh Hasina and the former hierarchy," he expressed.