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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been sentenced to death for crimes against humanity due to her severe measures on protests led by students which led to her ousting.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of allowing lethal force to be used against protesters, 1,400 of whom lost their lives during the turmoil in the previous year.

The trial proceeded while she was absent by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being the mastermind of hundreds of killings during the protests. The former leader rejected all charges, calling the trial as "biased and politically motivated".

The decision signifies a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over years of repression. Next of kin of victims and wounded had demanded strict sentences.

Answering the judgment 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 political force and that she was proud of her leadership's history on human rights.

"I do not fear to meet my challengers in a proper tribunal where the proof can be evaluated and reviewed impartially."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under increased safeguards before the decision on Monday, with several of her detractors organizing a demonstration and cheering as the sentence was declared.

Dhaka experienced a notable rise in unrest, with numerous incendiary devices set off and coaches ignited in the time before the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, regional security representative Jisanul Haque stated to media outlets.

The protest movement led by students during 2024 commenced through demands to abolish state employment quotas but evolved into a wider anti-government movement.

UN human rights investigators 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 some protesters, the intentional injuring of others, unjustified apprehensions and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of a telephone conversation involving Hasina confirmed by investigative sources during the current year suggested she had approved the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the trial.

Prior to the ruling, relatives of those who died in the demonstrations informed press outlets they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

A family representative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for Hasina and others who have "committed acts of vengeance and misused their authority".

A different family member, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "carried out before the election".

"Only then the kin of victims [in the protests] will find peace in their minds."

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

Nevertheless, the her former political organization, Hasina's political party, was outlawed by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

She alerted during the past month that if the party's candidates were banned from standing in the imminent electoral process, millions would boycott the ballot.

This decision presents a foreign relations issue for India and Bangladesh. Authorities have sought her return but to date India has shown no willingness to comply.

Her officially designated attorney the defense lawyer said he was "unhappy and desiring the outcome had varied".

"I cannot even contest because my represented individuals are away; that's why I am disheartened," he stated further.

Recently, her legal team said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN highlighting 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 offers some closure to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the country's political divisions.

"The anger against the former leader and the the former ruling faction has not decreased," a Dhaka-based rights activist informed press agencies. "Both she and the organization has said sorry or shown any remorse for the killings of hundreds of people."

She said "It makes it difficult for the faction to gain approval by a bulk of the population in this nation."

The campaigner further stated that the sentence was not closure for the kin of those killed and injured.

"We support multiple individuals who lost their limbs forever, they are currently without limbs, because of the suppression. They are incapable of excusing her."

David Bergman, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it even more difficult" for the political faction to become a regular participant of the nation's political landscape again.

This could alter if "an expression of regret occurs and a disassociation with the former leader and the former hierarchy," he stated.