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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been sentenced to death for atrocities due to her severe measures on youth demonstrations which resulted in her removal from power.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of authorizing deadly measures to be used against demonstrators, among whom around 1,400 people were killed during the disturbances in the previous year.

The trial proceeded without her presence by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being the mastermind of hundreds of killings during the protests. She has refuted every accusation, labeling the proceedings as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The verdict marks a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over extended periods of oppression. Families of those killed and harmed had requested strict sentences.

Answering the judgment in a detailed document, Hasina said the capital punishment was the interim government's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a political force and that she was content of her leadership's history on civil liberties.

"I am not afraid to confront those accusing me in a proper tribunal where the evidence can be weighed and examined justly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under tightened security before the ruling on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics holding a protest and cheering as the sentence was declared.

Dhaka experienced a sudden increase in disturbances, with numerous incendiary devices set off and public transport vehicles burned in the days leading up to the verdict.

One explosive incident was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, local police official Jisanul Haque stated to news organizations.

The student-led uprising during 2024 started with calls to eliminate state employment quotas but evolved into a broader opposition campaign.

UN human rights investigators said in a report in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could represent "human rights atrocities".

The report documented the gunfire from minimal distance of some protesters, the deliberate maiming of additional individuals, unjustified apprehensions and mistreatment.

Leaked audio of a call made by the former leader authenticated by external reviews during the current year suggested she had sanctioned the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the legal process.

Before the decision, kin of those killed during the protests informed news agencies they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

A family representative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for her and co-accused who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and exploited their positions".

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

"Exclusively thereafter the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will find peace in their hearts."

Following her removal, an temporary leadership under the guidance of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A national vote is set for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the Awami League, Hasina's political party, was prohibited by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

The former leader cautioned during the past month that if the the League's representatives were barred from participating in the imminent electoral process, millions would boycott the election.

This decision presents a foreign relations issue for both nations. Dhaka has formally requested her extradition but until now India has expressed no readiness to acquiesce.

Her officially designated attorney Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "disappointed and hoping the outcome had varied".

"I even cannot appeal because my clients are absent; for that reason I am sad," he continued.

The previous week, the defense attorneys said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN highlighting significant due process and due process issues at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial in conjunction with her former home minister and police chief.

Even though the verdict grants partial finality to families of killed in the protests, it may do little to soothe the nation's partisan rifts.

"The anger against the former leader and the her political party has not subsided," a human rights advocate from the capital stated to news organizations. "The leader and her faction has expressed regret or shown any remorse for the fatalities of countless citizens."

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 penalty was not resolution for the kin of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We work with several people who lost their limbs forever, they are currently without limbs, because of the suppression. They are incapable of excusing her."

An analyst, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it increasingly challenging" for her party to become a normal feature of the country's governance system again.

This might transform if "an expression of regret occurs and a distancing from Sheikh Hasina and the old leadership," he said.