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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been sentenced to death for crimes against humanity stemming from her crackdown on youth demonstrations which caused her forced departure.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of permitting fatal actions to be used against activists, with approximately 1,400 individuals lost their lives during the turmoil last year.

Hasina was tried while she was absent by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being the mastermind of hundreds of killings during the protests. She has refuted all charges, calling the trial as "biased and politically motivated".

The decision signifies a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over long-standing suppression. Families of those killed and injured had demanded tough penalties.

Responding to the decision in a five-page statement, the former leader stated the execution sentence was the temporary leadership's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a electoral entity and that she was content of her leadership's history on human rights.

"I am not afraid to face my accusers in a just legal forum where the facts can be assessed and tested fairly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under enhanced protection prior to the ruling on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics staging a rally and applauding as the verdict was read.

Dhaka experienced a notable rise in unrest, with multiple explosives detonated and public transport vehicles burned in the time before the verdict.

One explosive incident was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, local police official Jisanul Haque told press agencies.

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

United Nations rights examiners declared in an analysis in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could amount to "human rights atrocities".

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

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader verified by external reviews earlier this year indicated she had authorized the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the legal process.

Ahead of the verdict, family members 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 "severe penalty" for Hasina and others who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and exploited their positions".

Another relative, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "executed before the election".

"Only then the families of those killed [in the protests] will find peace in their souls."

Since Hasina's ousting, an caretaker administration under the guidance of economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A national vote is planned for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the Hasina's political party, her political faction, was banned by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

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

The verdict now poses a foreign relations issue for both nations. Dhaka has formally requested her extradition but until now India has expressed no readiness to agree.

Her officially designated attorney the defense lawyer said he was "unhappy and desiring the outcome had varied".

"I am unable to challenge because my defendants are not present; for that reason I am sad," he stated further.

The previous week, her legal team said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN highlighting serious fair trial and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina alongside her former home minister and security forces head.

Even though the verdict grants partial finality to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may do little to soothe the country's political divisions.

"The fury directed at the former leader and the Awami League has not subsided," a Dhaka-based rights activist told media outlets. "The leader and her faction has expressed regret or displayed repentance for the killings of hundreds of people."

The activist stated "This creates challenges for the party to be accepted by a majority of people in this state."

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

"We support numerous persons who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are now disabled, due to the crackdown. They cannot pardon her."

A journalist, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it particularly hard" for her party to become a normal feature of the nation's political landscape again.

This could alter if "there is some kind of apology and a distancing from the former leader and the old leadership," he expressed.