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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been sentenced to death for human rights violations stemming from her severe measures on protests led by students which caused her ousting.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of permitting fatal actions to be used against activists, 1,400 of whom died during the disturbances in the previous year.

The trial proceeded in absentia by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being behind multiple fatalities during the protests. The former leader rejected the entire case, describing the process as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The verdict marks a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over years of repression. Families of those killed and harmed had called for severe punishments.

Responding to the decision in a five-page statement, she expressed the capital punishment was the caretaker administration's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was satisfied of her administration's performance on civil liberties.

"I have no trepidation to face my accusers in a fair court where the facts can be assessed and examined justly."

Bangladesh's main city, 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 celebrating as the sentence was declared.

The capital witnessed a notable rise in unrest, with multiple explosives detonated and public transport vehicles burned in the period preceding the verdict.

One explosive incident was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, area law enforcement officer the authorities' representative told media outlets.

The student-led uprising in the previous year commenced through calls to eliminate government job quotas but morphed into a broader opposition campaign.

United Nations rights examiners stated in a document in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could constitute "violations of human dignity".

The report documented the shooting at point-blank range of some protesters, the intentional injuring of further participants, unwarranted detentions and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader confirmed by investigative sources earlier this year indicated she had sanctioned the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the proceedings.

Before the decision, kin of those killed during the protests told media representatives they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

One relative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for Hasina and others who have "committed acts of vengeance and exploited their positions".

Another relative, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "implemented before the election".

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

Since Hasina's ousting, an temporary leadership led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A parliamentary election is planned for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the Hasina's political party, the former ruling party, was prohibited by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

She alerted last month that if the her faction's nominees were prohibited from running in the upcoming election, numerous would avoid the election.

This decision presents a international dilemma for both nations. Authorities have sought her extradition but so far India has expressed no readiness to agree.

Her officially designated attorney her legal counsel said he was "unhappy and desiring the outcome had varied".

"I even cannot appeal because my represented individuals are away; which is why I am sad," he stated further.

The previous week, Hasina's lawyers said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN highlighting significant due process and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina together with her ex-interior minister and top law enforcement officer.

Even though the verdict offers some closure to kin of victims in the protests, it may do little to soothe the state's ideological splits.

"The anger against Hasina and the her political party has not diminished," a Dhaka-based rights activist informed press agencies. "Neither she nor the party has said sorry or shown any remorse for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The activist stated "This creates challenges for the party to be accepted by a majority of people in this state."

The campaigner further stated that the sentence was not closure for the kin of those killed and injured.

"We work with several people who suffered permanent amputations, they are currently without limbs, due to the crackdown. They are incapable of excusing her."

An analyst, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it even more difficult" for the political faction to become a normal feature of the country's governance system again.

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