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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been given a death sentence for atrocities over her harsh response on student-led protests which resulted in her forced departure.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of permitting fatal actions to be used against protesters, with approximately 1,400 individuals died during the disturbances during 2024.

Legal proceedings were conducted while she was absent by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being behind numerous deaths during the protests. She has refuted every accusation, calling the trial as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

This judgment represents a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over long-standing suppression. Next of kin of victims and wounded had requested severe punishments.

Responding to the decision in a detailed document, the former leader stated the death penalty was the caretaker administration's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was proud of her government's record on civil liberties.

"I do not fear to meet my challengers in a just legal forum where the proof can be evaluated and tested fairly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under increased safeguards prior to the verdict on Monday, with several of her detractors holding a protest and applauding as the sentence was declared.

Dhaka experienced a notable rise in disturbances, with multiple explosives detonated and buses set on fire in the days leading up to the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, area law enforcement officer the police spokesperson informed news organizations.

The student-led uprising in the previous year began with requests to remove state employment quotas but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.

UN human rights investigators declared in an analysis in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could amount to "violations of human dignity".

The paper detailed the shooting at point-blank range of some protesters, the purposeful disabling of further participants, unwarranted detentions and abuse.

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader verified by media examinations in previous months indicated she had sanctioned the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the trial.

Before the decision, relatives of those killed during the protests told news agencies they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

Ramjan Ali, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for her and co-accused who have "performed revengeful deeds and abused their power".

Lucky Akther, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "executed before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will achieve closure in their minds."

After her departure, an caretaker administration under the guidance of economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A national vote is set for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the Hasina's political party, her political faction, was banned by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

The former leader cautioned during the past month that if the the League's representatives were barred from participating in the imminent electoral process, numerous would avoid the ballot.

The verdict now poses a international dilemma for both nations. Authorities have sought her return but so far India has expressed no readiness to agree.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "disappointed and hoping the decision had been otherwise".

"I even cannot appeal because my defendants are not present; for that reason I am sad," he added.

Last week, the defense attorneys said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN pointing out significant due process and judicial process problems at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial together with her former home minister and top law enforcement officer.

While the sentence offers some closure to families of killed in the protests, it may do little to soothe the country's political divisions.

"The anger against the former leader and the the former ruling faction has not diminished," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka told media outlets. "The leader and her faction has expressed regret or displayed repentance for the killings of hundreds of people."

The advocate declared "It makes it difficult for the organization to receive endorsement by a most citizens in this country."

The advocate continued that the sentence was not finality for the relatives of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We assist several people who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are amputees now, because of the suppression. They will never be able to forgive her."

A journalist, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it increasingly challenging" for the political faction to become a standard element of the nation's political landscape again.

This may change if "a form of contrition emerges and a distancing from Hasina and the old leadership," he said.