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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 resulted in her ousting.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of permitting fatal actions to be used against activists, 1,400 of whom were killed during the disturbances last year.

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

Prosecutors accused her of being responsible for hundreds of killings during the protests. She has refuted all charges, labeling the proceedings as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The decision signifies a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over years of repression. Relatives of the deceased and injured had requested tough penalties.

Reacting to the verdict in a comprehensive declaration, she expressed the capital punishment was the temporary leadership's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a political force and that she was content of her leadership's history on individual freedoms.

"I am not afraid to meet my challengers in a proper tribunal where the facts can be assessed and tested fairly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under increased safeguards ahead of the decision on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics staging a rally and cheering as the judgment was announced.

The city has seen a sudden increase in disturbances, with multiple explosives detonated and public transport vehicles burned in the days leading up to the verdict.

One explosive incident was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, area law enforcement officer the authorities' representative told press agencies.

The youth-driven revolt last year started with calls to eliminate public sector reservation policies but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.

International human rights monitors said in a report in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could amount to "violations of human dignity".

The report documented the gunfire from minimal distance of certain demonstrators, the deliberate maiming of additional individuals, arbitrary arrests and abuse.

Leaked audio of one of Hasina's phone calls verified by investigative sources during the current year implied she had authorized the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the trial.

Ahead of the verdict, family members of those fatally injured in the unrest told press outlets they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

One relative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for her and co-accused who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and exploited their positions".

A different family member, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "carried out before the election".

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

Since Hasina's ousting, an caretaker administration led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A national vote is scheduled for February 2026.

However, the Awami League, the former ruling party, was banned by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

She alerted in the previous month that if the the League's representatives were barred from participating in the forthcoming vote, countless would abstain the ballot.

This decision presents a diplomatic challenge for India and Bangladesh. Dhaka has formally requested her extradition but to date India has demonstrated no inclination to acquiesce.

The legal representative assigned to her her legal counsel said he was "disappointed and hoping the decision had been otherwise".

"I am unable to challenge because my represented individuals are away; for that reason I am disappointed," he continued.

Last week, her legal team said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN pointing out serious fair trial 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 grants partial finality to kin of victims in the protests, it may not significantly ease the nation's partisan rifts.

"The anger against Sheikh Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not diminished," a Dhaka-based rights activist informed media outlets. "Neither she nor the party has apologised or displayed repentance for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The advocate declared "This complicates matters for the party to be accepted by a majority of people in this state."

The campaigner further stated that the penalty was not finality for the families of those who died and were wounded.

"We work with numerous persons who suffered permanent amputations, they are amputees now, as a result of the harsh measures. They cannot pardon her."

A journalist, 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 normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.

This may change if "an expression of regret occurs and a disassociation with Sheikh Hasina and the previous administration," he stated.