Bangladesh’s deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina was on Monday sentenced to death in absentia by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) for alleged crimes against humanity linked to last year’s student-led protests.

The tribunal described the 78-year-old Awami League leader as the “mastermind and principal architect” of the violent July–August crackdown that killed hundreds. A UN rights report earlier estimated that up to 1,400 people died during the month-long uprising.

Hasina, who fled to India on August 5 last year, was previously declared a fugitive. In a strongly worded statement, she rejected the verdict, calling the tribunal “rigged, biased and politically motivated” and part of an attempt by Bangladesh’s interim government to eliminate the Awami League.