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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been sentenced to death for crimes against humanity due to her crackdown on youth demonstrations which caused her removal from power.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of allowing lethal force to be used against protesters, 1,400 of whom died 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.

Legal authorities charged her of being behind hundreds of killings during the protests. The former leader rejected the entire case, labeling the proceedings as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The decision signifies a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over years of repression. Relatives of the deceased and injured had demanded severe punishments.

Answering the judgment in a five-page statement, the former leader stated the execution sentence was the caretaker administration's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a political force and that she was satisfied of her administration's performance on human rights.

"I have no trepidation to meet my challengers in a just legal forum where the evidence can be weighed and examined justly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under enhanced protection prior to the verdict on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina holding a protest and cheering as the verdict was read.

The capital witnessed a sudden increase in unrest, with numerous incendiary devices set off and public transport vehicles burned in the time before the verdict.

One explosive incident was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, regional security representative the police spokesperson stated to news organizations.

The youth-driven revolt during 2024 commenced through requests to remove government job quotas but transformed into a broader opposition campaign.

UN human rights investigators declared in an analysis in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could amount to "human rights atrocities".

The study recorded the firing at close quarters of certain demonstrators, the deliberate maiming of further participants, arbitrary arrests and torture.

Disclosed sound files of a telephone conversation involving Hasina authenticated by media examinations during the current year implied she had authorized the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the trial.

Prior to the ruling, relatives of those who died in the demonstrations stated to media representatives they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

Ramjan Ali, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for the former leader and associates 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 "executed before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the kin of victims [in the protests] will obtain solace in their minds."

Following her removal, an interim government led by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A national vote is scheduled for February 2026.

However, the her former political organization, Hasina's political party, was outlawed by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

The former leader cautioned during the past month that if the the League's representatives were banned from standing in the upcoming election, numerous would avoid the ballot.

The judgment creates a foreign relations issue for both nations. The Bangladesh government has asked her extradition but until now India has shown no willingness to comply.

Her officially designated attorney the defense lawyer said he was "disappointed and hoping the verdict had been different".

"I cannot even contest because my defendants are not present; that's why I am disappointed," he stated further.

The previous week, her legal team said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN highlighting significant due process and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Hasina was tried together with her previous domestic affairs official and police chief.

While the sentence offers some closure to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the nation's partisan rifts.

"The fury directed at Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not subsided," a Dhaka-based rights activist stated to press agencies. "Both she and the organization has expressed regret or demonstrated contrition for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The activist stated "This creates challenges for the organization to receive endorsement by a majority of people in this nation."

The advocate continued that the sentence was not closure for the relatives of those who died and were wounded.

"We assist multiple individuals who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are amputees now, as a result of the harsh measures. They are incapable of excusing her."

An analyst, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it increasingly challenging" 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 disassociation with Sheikh Hasina and the old leadership," he stated.