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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been sentenced to death for crimes against humanity stemming from her crackdown on protests led by students which led to her forced departure.

Hasina was declared culpable of authorizing deadly measures to be used against demonstrators, among whom around 1,400 people were killed during the disturbances last year.

The trial proceeded while she was absent by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being behind numerous deaths during the protests. Hasina has denied every accusation, calling the trial as "biased and politically motivated".

The verdict marks a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over long-standing suppression. Next of kin of victims and injured had requested severe punishments.

Responding to the decision in a five-page statement, the former leader stated the capital punishment was the temporary leadership's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a political force and that she was proud of her administration's performance on individual freedoms.

"I have no trepidation to meet my challengers in a just legal forum where the proof can be evaluated and tested fairly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under increased safeguards prior to the ruling on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics holding a protest and applauding as the judgment was announced.

The capital witnessed a sudden increase in disturbances, with numerous incendiary devices set off and buses set on fire 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 press agencies.

The protest movement led by students last year began with demands to abolish state employment quotas but transformed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

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 firing at close quarters of a number of activists, the purposeful disabling of further participants, arbitrary arrests and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of a telephone conversation involving Hasina verified by external reviews earlier this year suggested she had sanctioned the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the proceedings.

Ahead of the verdict, family members of those killed during the protests informed news agencies they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

One relative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for the former leader and associates who have "performed revengeful deeds and exploited their positions".

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

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

After her departure, an temporary leadership headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A national vote is scheduled for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the Hasina's political party, her political faction, was outlawed by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

She alerted last month that if the party's candidates were barred from participating in the upcoming election, numerous would avoid the election.

The verdict now poses a international dilemma for the neighboring countries. Authorities have sought her return but so far India has shown no willingness to agree.

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

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

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

Legal proceedings involved Hasina in conjunction with her former home minister and security forces head.

Even though the verdict provides certain resolution to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may not significantly ease the country's political divisions.

"The resentment towards Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not decreased," a Dhaka-based rights activist stated to press agencies. "Neither she nor the party has expressed regret or demonstrated contrition for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The advocate declared "This complicates matters for the party to be accepted by a most citizens in this nation."

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

"We work with several people who suffered permanent amputations, they are amputees now, due to the crackdown. They are incapable of excusing her."

David Bergman, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it increasingly challenging" for the political faction to become a standard element of Bangladeshi politics again.

This may change if "an expression of regret occurs and a distancing from the former leader and the previous administration," he said.