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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been given a death sentence for human rights violations due to her harsh response on student-led protests which led to her forced departure.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of permitting fatal actions to be used against demonstrators, with approximately 1,400 individuals died during the unrest in the previous year.

Legal proceedings were conducted without her presence by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being the mastermind of hundreds of killings during the protests. The former leader rejected the entire case, labeling the proceedings as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The decision signifies a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over years of repression. Relatives of the deceased and harmed had called for tough penalties.

Responding to the decision in a detailed document, Hasina said the capital punishment was the caretaker administration's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was satisfied of her leadership's history on individual freedoms.

"I am not afraid to meet my challengers in a proper tribunal where the facts can be assessed and reviewed impartially."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under tightened security before the decision on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina staging a rally and applauding as the judgment was announced.

The city has seen a notable rise in unrest, with multiple explosives detonated and buses set on fire in the time before the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, local police official Jisanul Haque stated to news organizations.

The protest movement led by students during 2024 began with calls to eliminate public sector reservation policies but transformed into a wider anti-government movement.

United Nations rights examiners declared in an analysis in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could represent "human rights atrocities".

The study recorded the shooting at point-blank range of certain demonstrators, the deliberate maiming of additional individuals, unjustified apprehensions and mistreatment.

Disclosed sound files of a telephone conversation involving Hasina confirmed by external reviews in previous months suggested she had approved the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the trial.

Before the decision, relatives of those killed during the protests informed media representatives they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

Ramjan Ali, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for Hasina and others who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and exploited their positions".

A different family member, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "carried out before the election".

"Only then the families of those killed [in the protests] will obtain solace in their souls."

Since Hasina's ousting, an temporary leadership under the guidance of economist Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A general election is scheduled for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the Awami League, Hasina's political party, was banned by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

Hasina warned in the previous month that if the the League's representatives were prohibited from running in the upcoming election, countless would abstain the election.

The judgment creates a diplomatic challenge for the neighboring countries. Dhaka has formally requested her repatriation but so far India has expressed no readiness to acquiesce.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer the defense lawyer said he was "unhappy and desiring the outcome had varied".

"I cannot even contest because my defendants are not present; which is why I am disappointed," he continued.

Last week, her legal team said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN raising serious fair trial and due process issues at the ICT.

Hasina was tried together with her previous domestic affairs official and top law enforcement officer.

While the sentence grants partial finality to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may do little to soothe the state's ideological splits.

"The anger against Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League has not subsided," a human rights advocate from the capital told press agencies. "Neither she nor the party has said sorry or shown any remorse for the fatalities of countless citizens."

She said "This creates challenges for the party to be accepted by a majority of people in this state."

The activist added that the punishment was not resolution for the kin of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We support numerous persons who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are currently without limbs, due to the crackdown. They cannot pardon her."

David Bergman, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a regular participant of the country's governance system again.

This might transform if "there is some kind of apology and a distancing from the former leader and the former hierarchy," he said.