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

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of allowing lethal force to be used against activists, with approximately 1,400 individuals died during the unrest last year.

Legal proceedings were conducted without her presence by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being responsible for hundreds of killings during the protests. She has refuted every accusation, labeling the proceedings as "biased and politically motivated".

This judgment represents a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over extended periods of oppression. Next of kin of victims and harmed had called for strict sentences.

Responding to the decision in a detailed document, Hasina said the death penalty was the caretaker administration's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a political force and that she was satisfied of her government's record on individual freedoms.

"I am not afraid to confront those accusing me in a fair court where the evidence can be weighed and tested fairly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under enhanced protection before the decision on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics holding a protest and cheering as the verdict was read.

The capital witnessed a recent spike in turmoil, with numerous incendiary devices set off and buses set on fire in the period preceding the verdict.

One explosive incident was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, area law enforcement officer Jisanul Haque told press agencies.

The protest movement led by students in the previous year began with requests to remove government job quotas but evolved into a broader opposition campaign.

International human rights monitors declared in an analysis in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could represent "violations of human dignity".

The report documented the shooting at point-blank range of certain demonstrators, the deliberate maiming of further participants, arbitrary arrests and mistreatment.

Disclosed sound files of a call made by the former leader confirmed by investigative sources in previous months suggested she had sanctioned the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the legal process.

Before the decision, relatives of those killed during the protests stated to news agencies they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

Ramjan Ali, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for Hasina and others who have "performed revengeful deeds and misused their authority".

Another relative, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "implemented before the election".

"Only then the families of those killed [in the protests] will achieve closure in their hearts."

After her departure, an interim government headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A national vote is scheduled for February 2026.

However, the Hasina's political party, the former ruling party, was prohibited by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

She alerted during the past month that if the her faction's nominees were banned from standing in the forthcoming vote, numerous would avoid the election.

The verdict now poses a international dilemma for India and Bangladesh. Dhaka has formally requested her repatriation but until now India has demonstrated no inclination to comply.

The legal representative assigned to her the defense lawyer said he was "disappointed and hoping the decision had been otherwise".

"I even cannot appeal 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 raising significant due process and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Hasina was tried together with her previous domestic affairs official and top law enforcement officer.

While the sentence provides certain resolution to kin of victims in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the state's ideological splits.

"The anger against the former leader and the her political party has not subsided," a human rights advocate from the capital told press agencies. "Neither she nor the party has said sorry or demonstrated contrition for the killings of hundreds of people."

She said "This creates challenges for the faction to gain approval by a most citizens in this country."

The activist added that the sentence was not resolution for the kin of those who died and were wounded.

"We assist multiple individuals who lost their limbs forever, they are currently without limbs, due to the crackdown. They cannot pardon her."

A journalist, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a normal feature of the country's governance system again.

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