A court in Bangladesh on Monday sentenced ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina to death, concluding a months-long trial over her involvement in a deadly crackdown on a student-led uprising last year.

Ms Hasina, 78, defied court orders that she return from India to attend the trial. She was found guilty of crimes against humanity and ordering the crackdown in August 2024.

"All the ... elements constituting crimes against humanity have been fulfilled," judge Golam Mortuza Mozumder said as he read the verdict to a packed courtroom in the capital Dhaka. It was broadcast live on national television.

Bangladesh has been in political turmoil since the end of Ms Hasina's rule. Violence has marred campaigns for elections that are expected to take place in February 2026.

Bangladeshi authorities increased security across the country before the ruling was announced. AP

The UN said up to 1,400 people were killed in last year's crackdown as Ms Hasina tried to cling to power. "Justice will be served according to the law," chief prosecutor Tajul Islam said before the verdict was announced. "We hope the court will exercise its prudence and wisdom, that the thirst for justice will be fulfilled and that this verdict will mark an end to crimes against humanity."

Bangladeshi soldiers stand guard outside the Supreme Court in Dhaka on Monday. AP

Prosecutors filed five charges, including failure to prevent murder, amounting to crimes against humanity under Bangladeshi law. The trial was held in Ms Hasina's absence and included allegations that she ordered mass killings. She has called the trial a "jurisprudential joke".

Others who faced charges in the trial included former interior minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal – also a fugitive – and former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun, who is in custody and pleaded guilty.

Ms Hasina was assigned a state-appointed lawyer for the trial but she refused to recognise the court's authority.