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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been given a death sentence for human rights violations stemming from her harsh response on protests led by students which resulted in her ousting.

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

Hasina was tried while she was absent by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being the mastermind of multiple fatalities during the protests. The former leader rejected the entire case, describing the process as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

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

Reacting to the verdict in a detailed document, the former leader stated the capital punishment was the interim government's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a electoral entity and that she was satisfied of her leadership's history on individual freedoms.

"I have no trepidation to confront those accusing me in a proper tribunal where the proof can be evaluated and reviewed impartially."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under tightened security ahead of the verdict on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics holding a protest and cheering as the sentence was declared.

The city has seen a sudden increase in unrest, with multiple explosives detonated and public transport vehicles burned in the time before the verdict.

One explosive incident was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, regional security representative Jisanul Haque told news organizations.

The student-led uprising last year began with demands to abolish state employment quotas but evolved into a wider anti-government movement.

International human rights monitors declared in an analysis in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could constitute "human rights atrocities".

The paper detailed the firing at close quarters of a number of activists, the intentional injuring of additional individuals, unjustified apprehensions and abuse.

Unauthorized recordings of one of Hasina's phone calls authenticated by media examinations in previous months implied she had approved the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the legal process.

Before the decision, kin of those fatally injured in the unrest told media representatives they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

Ramjan Ali, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for her and co-accused who have "committed acts of vengeance and exploited their positions".

Another relative, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "carried out before the election".

"Only then the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will find peace in their minds."

Following her removal, an interim government headed by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A national vote is planned for February 2026.

However, the her former political organization, her political faction, was prohibited by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

She alerted last month that if the party's candidates were barred from participating in the forthcoming vote, countless would abstain the vote.

The judgment creates a foreign relations issue for both nations. The Bangladesh government has asked her repatriation but so far India has expressed no readiness to agree.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer the defense lawyer said he was "disappointed and hoping the verdict had been different".

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

The previous week, her legal team said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN pointing out major judicial fairness and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Hasina was tried alongside her former home minister and security forces head.

While the sentence provides certain resolution 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 news organizations. "Neither she nor the party has said sorry or shown any remorse for the killings of hundreds of people."

The activist stated "This creates challenges for the faction to gain approval by a bulk of the population in this state."

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

"We support several people who lost their limbs forever, they are amputees now, as a result of the harsh measures. They are incapable of excusing her."

A journalist, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it increasingly challenging" for Awami League to become a normal feature of the nation's political landscape again.

This could alter if "there is some kind of apology and a disassociation with the former leader and the former hierarchy," he stated.