The nation of Bangladesh's Ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Sentenced to Death

The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been handed capital punishment for crimes against humanity over her severe measures on student-led protests which caused her forced departure.

Hasina was declared culpable of permitting fatal actions to be used against activists, 1,400 of whom died during the turmoil during 2024.

Hasina was tried while she was absent 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 the mastermind of multiple fatalities during the protests. She has refuted every accusation, describing the process as "biased and politically motivated".

This judgment represents a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over long-standing suppression. Relatives of the deceased and injured had requested strict sentences.

Answering the judgment in a detailed document, 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 satisfied of her leadership's history on civil liberties.

"I have no trepidation to confront those accusing me in a fair court where the evidence can be weighed and reviewed impartially."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under tightened security prior to the ruling on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina staging a rally and celebrating as the sentence was declared.

Dhaka experienced a notable rise in disturbances, with multiple explosives detonated and buses set on fire in the days leading up to the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, local police official Jisanul Haque informed press agencies.

The youth-driven revolt in the previous year commenced through calls to eliminate government job quotas but transformed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

United Nations rights examiners declared in an analysis in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could constitute "violations of human dignity".

The report documented the shooting at point-blank range of some protesters, the intentional injuring of additional individuals, unjustified apprehensions and mistreatment.

Disclosed sound files of a call made by the former leader authenticated by external reviews in previous months implied she had approved the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the proceedings.

Ahead of the verdict, relatives of those fatally injured in the unrest stated to news agencies they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

A family representative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for her and co-accused who have "performed revengeful deeds and misused their authority".

A different family member, whose spouse died 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 achieve closure in their minds."

Following her removal, an interim government headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A national vote is scheduled for February 2026.

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

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

The verdict now poses a diplomatic challenge for India and Bangladesh. Dhaka has formally requested her extradition but so far India has shown no willingness to acquiesce.

The legal representative assigned to her Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "unhappy and desiring the verdict had been different".

"I cannot even contest because my clients are absent; which is why I am disappointed," he added.

Last week, Hasina's lawyers said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN pointing out major judicial fairness and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Hasina was tried alongside her previous domestic affairs official and security forces head.

While the sentence provides certain resolution to kin of victims in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the country's political divisions.

"The anger against the former leader and the her political party has not diminished," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka stated to news organizations. "Both she and the organization has expressed regret or displayed repentance for the fatalities of countless citizens."

She said "This creates challenges for the organization to receive endorsement by a majority of people in this state."

The advocate continued that the sentence was not finality for the kin of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We assist numerous persons who lost their limbs forever, they are currently without limbs, as a result of the harsh measures. They cannot pardon her."

A journalist, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it increasingly challenging" for her party to become a regular participant of the nation's political landscape again.

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