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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been sentenced to death for atrocities due to her crackdown on student-led protests which resulted in her ousting.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of permitting fatal actions to be used against protesters, among whom around 1,400 people lost their lives during the turmoil in the previous year.

Hasina was tried while she was absent by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being behind hundreds of killings during the protests. Hasina has denied the entire case, describing the process as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

This judgment represents a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over extended periods of oppression. Next of kin of victims and wounded had requested strict sentences.

Answering the judgment in a five-page statement, the former leader stated the death penalty was the interim government's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a political force and that she was satisfied of her leadership's history on civil liberties.

"I am not afraid to confront those accusing me in a fair court where the facts can be assessed and tested fairly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under increased safeguards before the verdict on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics organizing a demonstration and cheering as the sentence was declared.

Dhaka experienced a recent spike in disturbances, 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 victims identified, regional security representative the police spokesperson stated to press agencies.

The student-led uprising during 2024 began with calls to eliminate public sector reservation policies but evolved into a broader opposition campaign.

International human rights monitors declared in an analysis 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 intentional injuring of further participants, unjustified apprehensions and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of one of Hasina's phone calls verified by investigative sources during the current year implied she had approved the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the proceedings.

Prior to the ruling, family members of those fatally injured in the unrest stated to media representatives they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

A family representative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for the former leader and associates who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and exploited their positions".

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

"Only then the families of those killed [in the protests] will achieve closure in their souls."

Following her removal, an interim government under the guidance of economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A general election is planned for February 2026.

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

The former leader cautioned in the previous month that if the her faction's nominees were banned from standing in the imminent electoral process, numerous would avoid the election.

The judgment creates a diplomatic challenge for the neighboring countries. The Bangladesh government has asked her extradition but until now India has expressed no readiness to agree.

The legal representative assigned to her Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "sad [and wishes] the decision had been otherwise".

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

Last week, her legal team said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN raising major judicial fairness and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Hasina was tried together with her former home minister and police chief.

While the sentence provides certain resolution to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may do little to soothe the nation's partisan rifts.

"The fury directed at Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not diminished," a Dhaka-based rights activist told press agencies. "Both she and the organization has expressed regret or displayed repentance for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The advocate declared "It makes it difficult for the faction to gain approval by a majority of people in this nation."

The campaigner further stated that the sentence was not resolution for the families of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We work with several people who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are now disabled, because of the suppression. They cannot pardon her."

David Bergman, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it increasingly challenging" for her party to become a regular participant of Bangladeshi politics again.

This might transform if "an expression of regret occurs and a disassociation with the former leader and the former hierarchy," he expressed.