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

Bangladesh's former prime minister has been sentenced to death for human rights violations stemming from her harsh response on student-led protests 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 lost their lives during the unrest in the previous year.

Hasina was tried in absentia by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being the mastermind of multiple fatalities during the protests. Hasina has denied all charges, calling the trial as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The decision signifies a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over long-standing suppression. Families of those killed and wounded had demanded severe punishments.

Responding to the decision in a detailed document, Hasina said the death penalty was the caretaker administration's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a political force and that she was satisfied of her leadership's history on individual freedoms.

"I do not fear to face my accusers in a fair court where the facts can be assessed and reviewed impartially."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under increased safeguards ahead of the decision on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics holding a protest and cheering as the judgment was announced.

The city has seen a notable rise in disturbances, with multiple explosives detonated and buses set on fire in the time before the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, regional security representative the police spokesperson stated to media outlets.

The student-led uprising last year commenced through requests to remove state employment quotas but evolved into a more extensive dissent initiative.

International human rights monitors stated in a document in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could amount to "human rights atrocities".

The paper detailed the gunfire from minimal distance of some protesters, the intentional injuring of further participants, unjustified apprehensions and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of a telephone conversation involving Hasina verified by investigative sources during the current year implied she had authorized the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the legal process.

Prior to the ruling, family members of those killed during the protests informed news agencies they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

Ramjan Ali, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for her and co-accused who have "performed revengeful deeds and exploited their positions".

A different family member, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "implemented before the election".

"Only then the kin of victims [in the protests] will achieve closure in their souls."

Since Hasina's ousting, an interim government led by economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A national vote is planned for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the Hasina's political party, the former ruling party, was outlawed by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

The former leader cautioned in the previous month that if the party's candidates were barred from participating in the forthcoming vote, numerous would avoid the vote.

This decision presents a foreign relations issue for India and Bangladesh. Dhaka has formally requested her extradition but so far India has expressed no readiness to agree.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer her legal counsel said he was "disappointed and hoping the outcome had varied".

"I even cannot appeal because my clients are absent; for that reason I am disappointed," he stated further.

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

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

Even though the verdict grants partial finality to families of killed in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the state's ideological splits.

"The resentment towards Hasina and the Awami League has not subsided," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka informed news organizations. "The leader and her faction has apologised or demonstrated contrition for the fatalities of countless citizens."

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

The campaigner further stated that the sentence was not finality for the relatives of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We work with several people who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are currently without limbs, because of the suppression. They are incapable of excusing 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 Bangladeshi politics again.

This may change if "an expression of regret occurs and a disassociation with the former leader and the old leadership," he stated.