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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been sentenced to death for crimes against humanity due to her crackdown on youth demonstrations which caused her forced departure.

Hasina was declared culpable of allowing lethal force to be used against protesters, 1,400 of whom died during the disturbances in the previous year.

Hasina was tried without her presence by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being behind hundreds of killings during the protests. Hasina has denied the entire case, calling the trial as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The decision signifies a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over extended periods of oppression. Families of those killed and wounded had called for tough penalties.

Answering the judgment in a detailed document, she expressed the execution sentence was the interim government's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was proud of her administration's performance on human rights.

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

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under increased safeguards ahead of the decision on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics staging a rally and celebrating as the sentence was declared.

Dhaka experienced a notable rise in unrest, with multiple explosives detonated and public transport vehicles burned in the days leading up to the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, area law enforcement officer the authorities' representative told news organizations.

The student-led uprising last year commenced through requests to remove state employment quotas but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.

UN human rights investigators stated in a document in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could represent "crimes against humanity".

The study recorded the gunfire from minimal distance of certain demonstrators, the purposeful disabling of additional individuals, unwarranted detentions and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of one of Hasina's phone calls confirmed by investigative sources earlier this year implied she had authorized the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the trial.

Ahead of the verdict, relatives of those who died in the demonstrations stated to news agencies they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

Ramjan Ali, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for Hasina and others who have "performed revengeful deeds and exploited their positions".

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

"Exclusively thereafter the kin of victims [in the protests] will achieve closure in their hearts."

After her departure, an temporary leadership headed by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A national vote is planned for February 2026.

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

She alerted last month that if the her faction's nominees were barred from participating in the forthcoming vote, millions would boycott the ballot.

This decision presents a foreign relations issue for both nations. Authorities have sought her return but to date India has expressed no readiness to agree.

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

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

Recently, her legal team said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN highlighting significant due process and due process issues at the ICT.

Hasina was tried alongside her former home minister and top law enforcement officer.

Even though the verdict grants partial finality to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the state's ideological splits.

"The fury directed at Sheikh Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not decreased," a Dhaka-based rights activist told media outlets. "Both she and the organization has apologised or demonstrated contrition for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The activist stated "This creates challenges for the organization to receive endorsement by a bulk of the population in this state."

The campaigner further stated that the sentence was not finality for the kin of those who died and were wounded.

"We work with multiple individuals who lost their limbs forever, they are now disabled, because of the suppression. They cannot pardon her."

David Bergman, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a normal feature of the country's governance system again.

This could alter if "an expression of regret occurs and a disassociation with Hasina and the old leadership," he said.