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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been given a death sentence for human rights violations due to her harsh response on student-led protests which caused her ousting.

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

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

The prosecution alleged of being responsible for multiple fatalities during the protests. The former leader rejected the entire case, describing the process as "biased and politically motivated".

The verdict marks a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over years of repression. Families of those killed and injured had demanded strict sentences.

Reacting to the verdict in a comprehensive declaration, she expressed the death penalty was the interim government's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a electoral entity and that she was proud of her leadership's history on civil liberties.

"I do not fear to confront those accusing me in a fair court where the proof can be evaluated and reviewed impartially."

The capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under enhanced protection before the ruling on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics staging a rally and cheering as the verdict was read.

The capital witnessed a notable rise in turmoil, with multiple explosives detonated and coaches ignited in the period preceding the verdict.

One explosive incident was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, regional security representative Jisanul Haque stated to news organizations.

The protest movement led by students in the previous year commenced through requests to remove state employment quotas but evolved into a broader opposition campaign.

UN human rights investigators declared in an analysis in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could amount to "human rights atrocities".

The paper detailed the gunfire from minimal distance of some protesters, the deliberate maiming of additional individuals, arbitrary arrests and mistreatment.

Disclosed sound files of a call made by the former leader authenticated by media examinations during the current year implied she had sanctioned the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the trial.

Prior to the ruling, kin of those killed during the protests stated to media representatives they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

One relative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for Hasina and others who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and misused their authority".

Another relative, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "carried out before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the families of those killed [in the protests] will achieve closure in their minds."

Following her removal, an caretaker administration led by economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A national vote is set for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the her former political organization, Hasina's political party, was prohibited by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

Hasina warned in the previous month that if the her faction's nominees were barred from participating in the forthcoming vote, countless would abstain the vote.

The judgment creates a international dilemma for both nations. Authorities have sought her repatriation but so far India has demonstrated no inclination to agree.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer her legal counsel said he was "sad [and wishes] the decision had been otherwise".

"I am unable to challenge because my clients are absent; that's why I am disheartened," he added.

Last week, the defense attorneys said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN raising major judicial fairness and due process issues at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina alongside her former home minister and police chief.

Although the punishment grants partial finality to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may do little to soothe the nation's partisan rifts.

"The resentment towards Hasina and the her political party has not subsided," a Dhaka-based rights activist informed press agencies. "Both she and the organization has expressed regret or displayed repentance for the deaths of numerous individuals."

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

The advocate continued that the sentence was not closure for the relatives of those who died and were wounded.

"We assist numerous persons who suffered permanent amputations, they are now disabled, due to the crackdown. They are incapable of excusing her."

An analyst, 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 could alter if "a form of contrition emerges and a distancing from Sheikh Hasina and the previous administration," he expressed.