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

Hasina was declared culpable of authorizing deadly measures to be used against protesters, 1,400 of whom died during the disturbances last year.

The trial proceeded without her presence by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being behind numerous deaths during the protests. The former leader rejected every accusation, calling the trial as "biased and politically motivated".

The decision signifies a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over long-standing suppression. Next of kin of victims and injured had demanded severe punishments.

Answering the judgment in a detailed document, she expressed the capital punishment was the interim government's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a political force and that she was proud of her administration's performance on individual freedoms.

"I do not fear to confront those accusing me in a just legal forum where the proof can be evaluated and examined justly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under enhanced protection before the decision on Monday, with several of her detractors organizing a demonstration and celebrating as the verdict was read.

The city has seen a recent spike in turmoil, with multiple explosives detonated and public transport vehicles burned in the time before the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, local police official the police spokesperson told news organizations.

The protest movement led by students during 2024 began with calls to eliminate government job quotas but evolved into a more extensive dissent initiative.

United Nations rights examiners said in a report in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could constitute "human rights atrocities".

The report documented the gunfire from minimal distance of certain demonstrators, the purposeful disabling of others, unwarranted detentions and torture.

Disclosed sound files of one of Hasina's phone calls authenticated by media examinations in previous months indicated she had approved the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the trial.

Prior to the ruling, kin of those killed during the protests told press outlets they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

One relative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for her and co-accused 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 "executed before the election".

"Only then the kin of victims [in the protests] will find peace in their hearts."

Following her removal, an temporary leadership headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A parliamentary election is set for February 2026.

However, the Hasina's political party, the former ruling party, was prohibited by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

The former leader cautioned last month that if the party's candidates were banned from standing in the imminent electoral process, numerous would avoid the ballot.

This decision presents a diplomatic challenge for India and Bangladesh. The Bangladesh government has asked her extradition but until now India has demonstrated no inclination to comply.

Her officially designated attorney her legal counsel said he was "sad [and wishes] the verdict had been different".

"I cannot even contest because my clients are absent; that's why I am disheartened," he continued.

The previous week, her legal team said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN highlighting major judicial fairness and due process issues at the ICT.

Hasina was tried together with her former home minister and top law enforcement officer.

While the sentence grants partial finality to kin of victims in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the nation's partisan rifts.

"The anger against Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League has not subsided," a Dhaka-based rights activist stated to media outlets. "The leader and her faction has apologised or demonstrated contrition for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The activist stated "It makes it difficult for the faction to gain approval by a most citizens in this country."

The campaigner further stated that the sentence was not resolution for the families of those who died and were wounded.

"We support several people who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are amputees now, due to the crackdown. They will never be able to forgive her."

An analyst, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it even more difficult" for the political faction to become a standard element of Bangladeshi politics again.

This could alter if "a form of contrition emerges and a distancing from the former leader and the former hierarchy," he expressed.