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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been sentenced to death for crimes against humanity over her harsh response on youth demonstrations which resulted in her forced departure.

Hasina was declared culpable of authorizing deadly measures to be used against activists, with approximately 1,400 individuals were killed during the turmoil in the previous year.

Legal proceedings were conducted without her presence by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being the mastermind of numerous deaths during the protests. She has refuted the entire case, labeling the proceedings as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The decision signifies a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over years of repression. Relatives of the deceased and wounded had requested strict sentences.

Answering the judgment in a detailed document, she expressed the capital punishment was the temporary leadership's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a political force and that she was proud of her leadership's history on individual freedoms.

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

The capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under increased safeguards prior to the decision on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina staging a rally and cheering as the judgment was announced.

The capital witnessed a recent spike in unrest, with multiple explosives detonated and public transport vehicles burned in the period preceding the verdict.

One explosive incident was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, local police official the authorities' representative told media outlets.

The protest movement led by students in the previous year started with calls to eliminate state employment quotas but morphed into a broader opposition campaign.

United Nations rights examiners said in a report in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could constitute "human rights atrocities".

The paper detailed the shooting at point-blank range of certain demonstrators, the intentional injuring of others, unwarranted detentions and mistreatment.

Unauthorized recordings of a telephone conversation involving Hasina verified by external reviews during the current year indicated she had sanctioned the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the trial.

Ahead of the verdict, family members of those fatally injured in the unrest stated to press outlets they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

A family representative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for the former leader and associates who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and abused their power".

Lucky Akther, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "executed before the election".

"Solely at that point the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will find peace in their minds."

Following her removal, an interim government under the guidance of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A national vote is planned for February 2026.

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

The former leader cautioned last month that if the her faction's nominees were banned from standing in the imminent electoral process, countless would abstain the election.

The judgment creates a international dilemma for both nations. Authorities have sought her repatriation but to date India has shown no willingness to comply.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "disappointed and hoping the outcome had varied".

"I even cannot appeal because my defendants are not present; for that reason I am disheartened," he added.

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

The former leader faced trial alongside her ex-interior minister and security forces head.

Even though the verdict offers some closure to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the country's political divisions.

"The fury directed at Hasina and the Awami League has not subsided," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka told press agencies. "The leader and her faction has expressed regret or demonstrated contrition for the fatalities of countless citizens."

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

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

"We work with numerous persons who lost their limbs forever, they are amputees now, as a result of the harsh measures. They are incapable of excusing her."

David Bergman, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it particularly hard" for her party to become a standard element of the country's governance system again.

This might transform if "there is some kind of apology and a distancing from Hasina and the previous administration," he said.