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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been sentenced to death for atrocities stemming from her harsh response on youth demonstrations which resulted in her forced departure.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of permitting fatal actions to be used against protesters, 1,400 of whom lost their lives during the disturbances in the previous year.

Legal proceedings were conducted in absentia by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being responsible for multiple fatalities during the protests. Hasina has denied the entire case, calling the trial as "biased and politically motivated".

The verdict marks a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over extended periods of oppression. Next of kin of victims and harmed had called for severe punishments.

Reacting to the verdict in a detailed document, the former leader stated the death penalty was the temporary leadership's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a political force and that she was content of her administration's performance on individual freedoms.

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

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under increased safeguards ahead of the verdict on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics staging a rally and celebrating as the judgment was announced.

The capital witnessed a recent spike in turmoil, with dozens of bombs exploded and public transport vehicles burned in the period preceding the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, regional security representative Jisanul Haque told press agencies.

The student-led uprising in the previous year began with calls to eliminate government job quotas but evolved into a wider anti-government movement.

UN human rights investigators said in a report in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could represent "human rights atrocities".

The study recorded the gunfire from minimal distance of some protesters, the deliberate maiming of others, arbitrary arrests and abuse.

Disclosed sound files of one of Hasina's phone calls authenticated by external reviews during the current year indicated she had authorized the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the legal process.

Prior to the ruling, family members of those fatally injured in the unrest informed news agencies they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

A family representative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for the former leader and associates who have "committed acts of vengeance and misused their authority".

A different family member, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "carried out before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will find peace in their hearts."

Since Hasina's ousting, an interim government headed by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A parliamentary election is scheduled for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the Hasina's political party, the former ruling party, was banned by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

Hasina warned last month that if the the League's representatives were barred from participating in the imminent electoral process, countless would abstain the ballot.

The judgment creates a diplomatic challenge for both nations. Dhaka has formally requested her extradition but until now India has expressed no readiness to agree.

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

"I cannot even contest because my clients are absent; for that reason I am disheartened," he continued.

Last week, her legal team said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN pointing out major judicial fairness and judicial process problems at the ICT.

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

Although the punishment offers some closure to families of killed in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the country's political divisions.

"The anger against the former leader and the her political party has not subsided," a Dhaka-based rights activist told news organizations. "Neither she nor the party has said sorry or displayed repentance for the fatalities of countless citizens."

She said "It makes it difficult for the party to be accepted by a most citizens in this nation."

The activist added that the sentence was not resolution for the families of those killed and injured.

"We work with several people who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are currently without limbs, because of the suppression. They are incapable of excusing her."

An analyst, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it particularly hard" for her party to become a regular participant of the nation's political landscape again.

This could alter if "a form of contrition emerges and a disassociation with Hasina and the former hierarchy," he expressed.