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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been given a death sentence for human rights violations due to her crackdown on protests led by students which caused her forced departure.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of permitting fatal actions to be used against protesters, with approximately 1,400 individuals were killed during the turmoil in the previous year.

Legal proceedings were conducted while she was absent by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being behind numerous deaths during the protests. Hasina has denied all charges, calling the trial as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The verdict marks a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over long-standing suppression. Next of kin of victims and harmed had requested tough penalties.

Reacting to the verdict in a detailed document, she expressed the capital punishment was the temporary leadership's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was proud of her leadership's history on individual freedoms.

"I have no trepidation to face my accusers in a fair court where the proof can be evaluated and tested fairly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under tightened security ahead of the verdict on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina organizing a demonstration and cheering as the sentence was declared.

Dhaka experienced a sudden increase in disturbances, with numerous incendiary devices set off and coaches ignited in the period preceding the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, local police official the authorities' representative stated to media outlets.

The student-led uprising during 2024 started with demands to abolish state employment quotas but evolved into a wider anti-government movement.

United Nations rights examiners said in a report in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could amount to "crimes against humanity".

The paper detailed the firing at close quarters of a number of activists, the purposeful disabling of further participants, unwarranted detentions and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of one of Hasina's phone calls authenticated by media examinations in previous months indicated she had approved the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the trial.

Before the decision, family members of those who died in the demonstrations informed news agencies they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

Ramjan Ali, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for Hasina and others who have "committed acts of vengeance and misused their authority".

Lucky Akther, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "executed before the election".

"Solely at that point the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will achieve closure in their minds."

Since Hasina's ousting, an caretaker administration headed by economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A general election is scheduled for February 2026.

However, the her former political organization, the former ruling party, was banned by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

The former leader cautioned in the previous month that if the the League's representatives were banned from standing in the forthcoming vote, numerous would avoid the ballot.

The verdict now poses a international dilemma for India and Bangladesh. Authorities have sought her extradition but so far India has expressed no readiness to comply.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer the defense lawyer said he was "unhappy and desiring the decision had been otherwise".

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

Last week, Hasina's lawyers said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN highlighting serious fair trial and due process issues at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial together with her previous domestic affairs official and top law enforcement officer.

Even though the verdict offers some closure to families of killed in the protests, it may not significantly ease the country's political divisions.

"The fury directed at Sheikh Hasina and the her political party has not subsided," a human rights advocate from the capital stated to press agencies. "Both she and the organization has apologised or displayed repentance for the killings of hundreds of people."

The advocate declared "This creates challenges for the faction to gain approval by a most citizens in this nation."

The campaigner further stated that the penalty was not closure for the kin of those killed and injured.

"We support multiple individuals who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are now disabled, because of the suppression. They will never be able to forgive her."

An analyst, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it even more difficult" for the political faction to become a standard element of Bangladeshi politics again.

This might transform if "a form of contrition emerges and a separation from the former leader and the former hierarchy," he expressed.