(MENAFN) A court in Dhaka on Monday handed Bangladesh’s runaway ex-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina a death sentence, convicting her of crimes against humanity linked to last year’s large-scale protests against her administration.

Under stringent security measures, the International Crimes Tribunal in Dhaka delivered the ruling in absentia, as Hasina is currently in India.

The court declared that Hasina committed crimes against humanity, describing her as the “superior commander of all the atrocities.”

According to the tribunal, led by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder, "The crimes happened in her (Sheikh Hasina’s) cool knowledge," as cited in the 453-page verdict.

The three-member panel affirmed that “all the conditions of being a case of crimes against humanity were proved” in her trial.

Among those sentenced to death is former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, who is also outside Bangladesh. Hasina and her associates retain the right to appeal directly to the supreme court within 30 days.

Hasina fled to India on August 5 last year during the peak of a mass uprising against her rule, which resulted in the deaths of more than 1,400 individuals.

Subsequently, the interim government filed five charges against Hasina and her aides, including crimes against humanity.

The student-led movement last year toppled Hasina's Awami League administration, which had governed the South Asian nation for over 15 years.

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