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

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

Legal proceedings were conducted without her presence by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being the mastermind of numerous deaths during the protests. Hasina has denied every accusation, calling the trial as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The verdict marks a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over years of repression. Next of kin of victims and injured had requested tough penalties.

Responding to the decision in a detailed document, Hasina said the death penalty was the caretaker administration's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a electoral entity and that she was satisfied of her leadership's history on civil liberties.

"I have no trepidation to confront those accusing me in a just legal forum where the facts can be assessed and reviewed impartially."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under enhanced protection ahead of the decision on Monday, with several of her detractors organizing a demonstration and celebrating as the sentence was declared.

The city has seen a notable rise in turmoil, with dozens of bombs exploded and public transport vehicles burned in the period preceding the verdict.

One explosive incident was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, regional security representative the authorities' representative told press agencies.

The youth-driven revolt in the previous year started with demands to abolish state employment quotas but transformed into a broader opposition campaign.

International human rights monitors stated in a document in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could amount to "violations of human dignity".

The study recorded the shooting at point-blank range of a number of activists, the intentional injuring of others, unjustified apprehensions and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of one of Hasina's phone calls confirmed by external reviews during the current year implied she had authorized the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the legal process.

Prior to the ruling, family members of those fatally injured in the unrest told news agencies they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

Ramjan Ali, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for Hasina and others who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and abused their power".

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

"Exclusively thereafter the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will find peace in their minds."

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

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

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

This decision presents a foreign relations issue for the neighboring countries. Dhaka has formally requested her return but until now India has expressed no readiness to agree.

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

"I even cannot appeal because my clients are absent; for that reason I am disappointed," he stated further.

The previous week, Hasina's lawyers said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN raising serious fair trial and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina together with her ex-interior minister and top law enforcement officer.

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

"The anger against Sheikh Hasina and the her political party has not subsided," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka stated to press agencies. "Neither she nor the party has apologised or demonstrated contrition for the killings of hundreds of people."

The advocate declared "It makes it difficult for the party to be accepted by a bulk of the population in this state."

The campaigner further stated that the penalty was not closure for the relatives of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We support multiple individuals who lost their limbs forever, they are amputees now, because of the suppression. They cannot pardon her."

A journalist, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it even more difficult" for her party to become a standard element of Bangladeshi politics again.

This may change if "there is some kind of apology and a separation from Sheikh Hasina and the old leadership," he said.