Ex Bangladeshi PM Hasina sentenced to death over violent crackdown on student-led protests

A court in Dhaka has found former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina guilty of various crimes against humanity and has sentenced her to death over a violent crackdown on student-led anti-government protests last year, during which the UN estimates up to 1,400 people died. Former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal was also sentenced to death in the same case.
Hasina, 78, was tried in her absence as she has been living in exile in India since being forced from power. She has denied all charges and described the trial in her absence as a "kangaroo court". 
The verdict marks a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the 2024 protests were a result of years of bottled-up unrest due to years of repression and stifling of dissent, according to BBC.
According to reports, the verdict was handed down under tight security and many of Hasina's critics staged a rally in Dhaka.  
The 2024 protest ended Hasina’s 15-year “authoritarian” rule marked by allegations of suppression of dissent, and extrajudicial detentions and killings.