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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been sentenced to death for crimes against humanity due to her severe measures on youth demonstrations which led to her ousting.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of allowing lethal force to be used against activists, 1,400 of whom lost their lives during the unrest last year.

Legal proceedings were conducted without her presence by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being behind hundreds of killings during the protests. The former leader rejected the entire case, calling the trial as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The decision signifies a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over extended periods of oppression. Relatives of the deceased and harmed had called for strict sentences.

Responding to the decision 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 governing body and that she was content of her leadership's history on human rights.

"I have no trepidation to meet my challengers in a just legal forum where the evidence can be weighed and examined justly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under increased safeguards prior to the ruling on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics staging a rally and cheering as the judgment was announced.

The capital witnessed a recent spike 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 victims identified, local police official the police spokesperson stated to media outlets.

The youth-driven revolt in the previous year started with requests to remove government job quotas but transformed into a wider anti-government movement.

International human rights monitors declared in an analysis in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could represent "crimes against humanity".

The study recorded the firing at close quarters of a number of activists, the purposeful disabling of others, arbitrary arrests and mistreatment.

Leaked audio of a call made by the former leader authenticated by investigative sources during the current year indicated she had approved 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 fatally injured in the unrest informed news agencies they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

A family representative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for her and co-accused who have "committed acts of vengeance and misused their authority".

A different family member, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "carried out before the election".

"Only then the kin of victims [in the protests] will obtain solace in their hearts."

Following her removal, an temporary leadership under the guidance of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A general election is planned for February 2026.

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

Hasina warned last month that if the the League's representatives were barred from participating in the imminent electoral process, numerous would avoid the vote.

The judgment creates a foreign relations issue for both nations. The Bangladesh government has asked her extradition but so far India has demonstrated no inclination to comply.

Her officially designated attorney Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "disappointed and hoping the verdict had been different".

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

Last week, the defense attorneys said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN raising significant due process and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina in conjunction with her previous domestic affairs official and top law enforcement officer.

Although the punishment offers some closure to kin of victims in the protests, it may do little to soothe the state's ideological splits.

"The fury directed at the former leader and the Awami League has not subsided," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka informed media outlets. "The leader and her faction has apologised or demonstrated contrition for the killings of hundreds of people."

The advocate declared "This complicates matters 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 families of those who died and were wounded.

"We work with several people who suffered permanent amputations, they are now disabled, as a result of the harsh measures. They will never be able to forgive her."

A journalist, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it increasingly challenging" for Awami League to become a standard element of the nation's political landscape again.

This could alter if "there is some kind of apology and a distancing from Sheikh Hasina and the old leadership," he stated.