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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 led to her removal from power.

Hasina was declared culpable of permitting fatal actions to be used against activists, with approximately 1,400 individuals lost their lives during the unrest during 2024.

Legal proceedings were conducted 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.

Legal authorities charged her of being the mastermind of multiple fatalities during the protests. Hasina has denied all charges, labeling the proceedings as "biased and politically motivated".

The decision signifies a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over long-standing suppression. Next of kin of victims and harmed had called for tough penalties.

Reacting to the verdict in a five-page statement, she expressed the death penalty was the interim government's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was content of her government's record on individual freedoms.

"I do not fear to confront those accusing me in a fair court where the evidence can be weighed and examined justly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under enhanced protection prior to the verdict on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina organizing a demonstration and celebrating as the sentence was declared.

Dhaka experienced a recent spike in disturbances, with dozens of bombs exploded and buses set on fire in the days leading up to the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, local police official Jisanul Haque informed news organizations.

The protest movement led by students in the previous year commenced through demands to abolish government job quotas but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.

International human rights monitors said in a report in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could represent "violations of human dignity".

The study recorded the firing at close quarters of certain demonstrators, the deliberate maiming of others, unjustified apprehensions and mistreatment.

Leaked audio of a call made by the former leader confirmed by investigative sources during the current year implied she had approved the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the legal process.

Ahead of the verdict, kin of those fatally injured in the unrest told news agencies they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

A family representative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for Hasina and others who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and misused their authority".

Another relative, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "implemented before the election".

"Solely at that point the families of those killed [in the protests] will obtain solace in their hearts."

Since Hasina's ousting, an temporary leadership led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A national vote is set for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the Awami League, Hasina's political party, was banned by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

Hasina warned in the previous month that if the her faction's nominees were prohibited from running in the forthcoming vote, millions would boycott the vote.

The judgment creates a diplomatic challenge for both nations. Authorities have sought her extradition but so far India has demonstrated no inclination to acquiesce.

The legal representative assigned to her her legal counsel said he was "disappointed and hoping the outcome had varied".

"I cannot even contest because my clients are absent; for that reason I am sad," he stated further.

Recently, Hasina's lawyers said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN raising major judicial fairness and due process issues at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina alongside her former home minister and security forces head.

Although the punishment grants partial finality to families of killed in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the state's ideological splits.

"The anger against Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not diminished," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka stated to media outlets. "Neither she nor the party has expressed regret or shown any remorse for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The activist stated "This creates challenges for the faction to gain approval by a most citizens in this state."

The advocate continued that the penalty was not resolution for the kin of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We assist several people who suffered permanent amputations, they are currently without limbs, as a result of the harsh measures. They are incapable of excusing her."

An analyst, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it particularly hard" for Awami League to become a standard element of Bangladeshi politics again.

This could alter if "a form of contrition emerges and a disassociation with Hasina and the previous administration," he expressed.