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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 led to her removal from power.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of authorizing deadly measures to be used against demonstrators, 1,400 of whom lost their lives during the disturbances during 2024.

The trial proceeded in absentia by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being the mastermind of multiple fatalities during the protests. The former leader rejected all charges, calling the trial as "biased and politically motivated".

The decision signifies a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over long-standing suppression. Relatives of the deceased and wounded had demanded strict sentences.

Reacting to the verdict in a comprehensive declaration, the former leader stated the capital punishment was the caretaker administration's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was satisfied of her administration's performance on individual freedoms.

"I am not afraid to confront those accusing me in a proper tribunal where the proof can be evaluated and examined justly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under enhanced protection before the decision on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina staging a rally and applauding as the sentence was declared.

The city has seen a recent spike in unrest, with multiple explosives detonated and coaches ignited in the time before the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, regional security representative the authorities' representative stated to news organizations.

The youth-driven revolt last year commenced through demands to abolish state employment quotas but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.

United Nations rights examiners declared in an analysis in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could constitute "human rights atrocities".

The report documented the gunfire from minimal distance of certain demonstrators, the purposeful disabling of others, arbitrary arrests and torture.

Leaked audio of one of Hasina's phone calls authenticated by media examinations during the current year indicated she had authorized the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the proceedings.

Ahead of the verdict, kin of those who died in the demonstrations told media representatives they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

Ramjan Ali, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for Hasina and others who have "performed revengeful deeds and abused their power".

A different family member, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "carried out before the election".

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

Since Hasina's ousting, an temporary leadership led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A general election is set for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the Awami League, Hasina's political party, was banned by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

She alerted last month that if the the League's representatives were prohibited from running in the upcoming election, countless would abstain the vote.

This decision presents a foreign relations issue for both nations. The Bangladesh government has asked her extradition but so far India has demonstrated no inclination to acquiesce.

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

"I am unable to challenge because my represented individuals are away; for that reason I am disheartened," he added.

The previous week, her legal team said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN raising significant due process and judicial process problems at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial alongside her ex-interior minister and security forces head.

While the sentence provides certain resolution to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the state's ideological splits.

"The resentment towards Hasina and the her political party has not decreased," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka told news organizations. "Neither she nor the party has said sorry or demonstrated contrition for the killings of hundreds of people."

The advocate declared "This creates challenges for the organization to receive endorsement by a most citizens in this country."

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

"We work with several people who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are now disabled, because of the suppression. They are incapable of excusing her."

A journalist, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a regular participant of the nation's political landscape again.

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