A Bangladesh court today sentenced ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to death for crimes against humanity after a month-long trial, finding her guilty of ordering the bloody crackdown on a student uprising last year.

Hasina, 78, was tried in absentia on charges of crimes against humanity in connection with the violent suppression of student protests in mid-2024.

She is currently in India where she fled after being removed from power in August 2024.

The International Crimes Tribunal, a special court in Dhaka, is also expected to deliver a verdict on two of her associates–former interior minister Asaduzzaman Khan and former police chief Abdullah Al Mamoun–who face the same charge.

Dhaka has seen a rapid increase in attacks ahead of the announcement of the court ruling.

On November 12 alone, authorities recorded 32 explosions and dozens of buses were torched in various parts of the capital and other districts.

During his plea last month, the prosecutor called for the death penalty for the exiled former prime minister.

In protest, Hasina’s party – the Bangladesh Awami League – which was outlawed by the interim government, has called for a two-day lockdown nationwide and has denounced the trial as politically motivated.

The unrest was marked by reports of bomb blasts, arson attacks on buses and businesses and marches in several areas, including the capital, last night.

Security has been beefed up across the city, authorities say. More than 400 soldiers from the paramilitary Border Guard have been deployed in the city, checkpoints have been reinforced and public gatherings have been significantly curtailed.

To control the situation, the Dhaka police chief yesterday ordered the police to fire on anyone involved in arson or bombing.