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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been sentenced to death for atrocities due to her severe measures on protests led by students which resulted in her ousting.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of authorizing deadly measures to be used against demonstrators, with approximately 1,400 individuals were killed during the unrest during 2024.

The trial proceeded without her presence by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being behind hundreds of killings during the protests. She has refuted every accusation, labeling the proceedings as "biased and politically motivated".

The decision signifies a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over extended periods of oppression. Relatives of the deceased and injured had demanded severe punishments.

Responding to the decision in a five-page statement, Hasina said the execution sentence was the caretaker administration's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was satisfied of her administration's performance on individual freedoms.

"I have no trepidation to face my accusers in a just legal forum where the evidence can be weighed and tested fairly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under enhanced protection prior to the verdict on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics holding a protest and cheering as the judgment was announced.

The city has seen a notable rise in turmoil, with dozens of bombs exploded 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 casualties reported, regional security representative the police spokesperson informed media outlets.

The student-led uprising in the previous year commenced through demands to abolish public sector reservation policies but transformed into a broader opposition campaign.

International human rights monitors stated in a document in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could amount to "human rights atrocities".

The study recorded the firing at close quarters of certain demonstrators, the deliberate maiming of additional individuals, unwarranted detentions and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader authenticated by investigative sources earlier this year indicated she had approved the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the proceedings.

Before the decision, kin of those who died in the demonstrations stated to press outlets they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

One relative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for her and co-accused who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and abused their power".

Another relative, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "carried out before the election".

"Solely at that point the families of those killed [in the protests] will achieve closure in their minds."

Since Hasina's ousting, an caretaker administration led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A national vote is scheduled for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the Awami League, the former ruling party, was outlawed by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

Hasina warned last month that if the party's candidates were barred from participating in the forthcoming vote, numerous would avoid the vote.

The judgment creates a foreign relations issue for the neighboring countries. Authorities have sought her return but to date India has shown no willingness to acquiesce.

The legal representative assigned to her Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "unhappy and desiring the outcome had varied".

"I am unable to challenge because my clients are absent; for that reason I am disheartened," he stated further.

Last week, her legal team said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN highlighting major judicial fairness and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Hasina was tried alongside her ex-interior minister and police chief.

Even though the verdict offers some closure to kin of victims in the protests, it may not significantly ease the country's political divisions.

"The anger against the former leader and the Awami League has not decreased," a Dhaka-based rights activist stated to news organizations. "The leader and her faction has expressed regret or demonstrated contrition for the deaths of numerous individuals."

She said "This creates challenges for the party to be accepted by a bulk of the population in this country."

The advocate continued that the sentence was not closure for the families of those killed and injured.

"We assist several people who suffered permanent amputations, they are currently without limbs, because of the suppression. They cannot pardon her."

A journalist, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it even more difficult" for her party to become a regular participant of Bangladeshi politics again.

This might transform if "a form of contrition emerges and a separation from Sheikh Hasina and the old leadership," he said.