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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been given a death sentence 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 protesters, with approximately 1,400 individuals were killed during the disturbances during 2024.

The trial proceeded in absentia 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 behind multiple fatalities during the protests. The former leader rejected the entire case, calling the trial as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

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

Responding to the decision in a comprehensive declaration, Hasina said the capital punishment was the interim government's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a political force and that she was content of her leadership's history on individual freedoms.

"I have no trepidation to face my accusers in a fair court where the facts can be assessed and examined justly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under increased safeguards ahead of the ruling on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics staging a rally and applauding as the verdict was read.

The city has seen a sudden increase in turmoil, with numerous incendiary devices set off and buses set on fire in the days leading up to the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, local police official the authorities' representative stated to news organizations.

The student-led uprising last year began with requests to remove government job quotas but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.

UN human rights investigators declared in an analysis in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could constitute "human rights atrocities".

The study recorded the gunfire from minimal distance of certain demonstrators, the deliberate maiming of others, unwarranted detentions and torture.

Disclosed sound files of a telephone conversation involving Hasina confirmed by media examinations earlier this year implied she had authorized the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the legal process.

Ahead of the verdict, family members of those fatally injured in the unrest informed media representatives they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

One relative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for Hasina and others who have "performed revengeful deeds and misused their authority".

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

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

After her departure, an caretaker administration headed by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A national vote is scheduled for February 2026.

However, the her former political organization, her political faction, was banned by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

She alerted during the past month that if the the League's representatives were banned from standing in the upcoming election, millions would boycott the ballot.

The verdict now poses a diplomatic challenge for the neighboring countries. The Bangladesh government has asked her return but until now India has shown no willingness to acquiesce.

The legal representative assigned to her Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "disappointed and hoping the decision had been otherwise".

"I am unable to challenge because my represented individuals are away; that's why I am disappointed," he stated further.

Recently, 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 alongside her previous domestic affairs official and police chief.

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

"The anger against the former leader and the her political party has not decreased," a human rights advocate from the capital told news organizations. "Neither she nor the party has expressed regret or demonstrated contrition for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The advocate declared "This creates challenges for the party to be accepted by a bulk of the population in this state."

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

"We support numerous persons who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are currently without limbs, because of the suppression. They will never be able to forgive her."

A journalist, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it increasingly challenging" for her party to become a regular participant of the country's governance system again.

This could alter if "a form of contrition emerges and a distancing from Hasina and the previous administration," he stated.