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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been sentenced to death for human rights violations due to her harsh response on protests led by students which caused her ousting.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of allowing lethal force to be used against demonstrators, with approximately 1,400 individuals were killed during the turmoil last year.

Legal proceedings were conducted while she was absent by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being responsible for multiple fatalities during the protests. She has refuted every accusation, describing the process as "biased and politically motivated".

This judgment represents a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over years of repression. Next of kin of victims and harmed had requested severe punishments.

Reacting to the verdict 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 electoral entity and that she was proud of her government's record on civil liberties.

"I have no trepidation to meet my challengers in a just legal forum where the proof can be evaluated and reviewed impartially."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under increased safeguards ahead of the ruling on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina staging a rally and celebrating as the judgment was announced.

The city has seen a sudden increase in turmoil, with multiple explosives detonated and buses set on fire in the time before the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, area law enforcement officer Jisanul Haque informed media outlets.

The student-led uprising last year began with demands to abolish state employment quotas but transformed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

International human rights monitors declared in an analysis in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could represent "human rights atrocities".

The study recorded the firing at close quarters of some protesters, the purposeful disabling of additional individuals, arbitrary arrests and abuse.

Disclosed sound files of a telephone conversation involving Hasina authenticated by investigative sources in previous months indicated she had approved the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the legal process.

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

One relative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for Hasina and others who have "committed acts of vengeance and misused their authority".

Lucky Akther, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "implemented before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the kin of victims [in the protests] will achieve closure in their souls."

After her departure, an temporary leadership led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A parliamentary election is scheduled for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the her former political organization, the former ruling party, was banned by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

The former leader cautioned last month that if the the League's representatives were prohibited from running in the upcoming election, numerous would avoid the vote.

The judgment creates a diplomatic challenge for the neighboring countries. Dhaka has formally requested her repatriation but so far India has demonstrated no inclination to agree.

Her officially designated attorney her legal counsel said he was "sad [and wishes] the decision had been otherwise".

"I am unable to challenge because my defendants are not present; for that reason 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 due process issues at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial alongside her previous domestic affairs official and top law enforcement officer.

While the sentence offers some closure to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may do little to soothe the state's ideological splits.

"The fury directed at Sheikh Hasina and the her political party has not subsided," a human rights advocate from the capital stated to press agencies. "Both she and the organization has apologised or demonstrated contrition for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The advocate declared "This creates challenges for the organization to receive endorsement by a bulk of the population in this nation."

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

"We assist multiple individuals who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are currently without limbs, because of the suppression. They are incapable of excusing her."

A journalist, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it even more difficult" for Awami League to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.

This may change if "an expression of regret occurs and a separation from Hasina and the former hierarchy," he expressed.