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

Bangladesh's former prime minister has been handed capital punishment for crimes against humanity stemming from her crackdown on youth demonstrations which resulted in her removal from power.

Hasina was declared culpable of authorizing deadly measures to be used against activists, among whom around 1,400 people were killed during the unrest in the previous year.

Hasina was tried without her presence by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being the mastermind of multiple fatalities during the protests. She has refuted the entire case, labeling the proceedings as "biased and politically motivated".

The decision signifies a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over years of repression. Relatives of the deceased and injured had called for severe punishments.

Reacting to the verdict in a five-page statement, Hasina said the execution sentence was the caretaker administration's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was content of her leadership's history on civil liberties.

"I am not afraid to face my accusers in a fair court where the facts can be assessed and examined justly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under increased safeguards prior to the ruling on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina holding a protest and celebrating as the verdict was read.

The capital witnessed a notable rise in unrest, with numerous incendiary devices set off and coaches ignited in the time before the verdict.

One explosive incident was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, local police official Jisanul Haque informed press agencies.

The student-led uprising in the previous year commenced through requests to remove government job quotas but morphed into a broader opposition campaign.

UN human rights investigators stated in a document in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could constitute "crimes against humanity".

The paper detailed the shooting at point-blank range of some protesters, the intentional injuring of others, unjustified apprehensions and abuse.

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader authenticated by investigative sources in previous months implied she had authorized the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the proceedings.

Ahead of the verdict, kin of those who died in the demonstrations stated to media representatives they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

Ramjan Ali, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for the former leader and associates who have "committed acts of vengeance and exploited their positions".

Another relative, whose husband was killed 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 hearts."

Following her removal, an temporary leadership led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A national vote is scheduled for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the her former political organization, the former ruling party, was prohibited by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

She alerted during the past month that if the party's candidates were barred from participating in the imminent electoral process, countless would abstain the vote.

The judgment creates a diplomatic challenge for the neighboring countries. The Bangladesh government has asked her return but so far India has expressed no readiness to agree.

The legal representative assigned to her her legal counsel said he was "unhappy and desiring the decision had been otherwise".

"I even cannot appeal because my represented individuals are away; which is why I am disheartened," he added.

Recently, Hasina's lawyers said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN raising serious fair trial and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Hasina was tried alongside her previous domestic affairs official and police chief.

While the sentence provides certain resolution to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may not significantly ease the state's ideological splits.

"The fury directed at Hasina and the her political party has not decreased," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka stated to press agencies. "The leader and her faction has apologised or demonstrated contrition for the killings of hundreds of people."

She said "It makes it difficult for the party to be accepted by a most citizens in this state."

The activist added that the punishment was not closure for the families of those killed and injured.

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

A journalist, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a standard element of the nation's political landscape again.

This may change if "an expression of regret occurs and a distancing from Hasina and the old leadership," he expressed.