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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been given a death sentence for atrocities stemming from her harsh response on protests led by students which resulted in her forced departure.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of authorizing deadly measures to be used against protesters, with approximately 1,400 individuals died during the disturbances last year.

Hasina was tried without her presence by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being the mastermind of multiple fatalities during the protests. She has refuted the entire case, calling the trial as "biased and politically motivated".

The decision signifies a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over extended periods of oppression. Next of kin of victims and injured had demanded tough penalties.

Responding to the decision in a comprehensive declaration, she expressed the death penalty was the interim government's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a political force and that she was satisfied of her government's record on civil liberties.

"I do not fear to face my accusers in a just legal forum where the proof can be evaluated and reviewed impartially."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under tightened security before the verdict on Monday, with several of her detractors staging a rally and celebrating as the judgment was announced.

The capital witnessed a sudden increase in disturbances, with multiple explosives detonated and public transport vehicles burned in the period preceding the verdict.

One explosive incident was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, area law enforcement officer the police spokesperson told news organizations.

The protest movement led by students during 2024 began with calls to eliminate government job quotas but evolved into a more extensive dissent initiative.

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

The paper detailed the gunfire from minimal distance of some protesters, the purposeful disabling of others, arbitrary arrests and mistreatment.

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader authenticated by media examinations earlier this year suggested she had approved the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the trial.

Before the decision, kin of those fatally injured in the unrest informed news agencies they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

Ramjan Ali, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for the former leader and associates who have "performed revengeful deeds and abused their power".

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 relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will achieve closure in their minds."

Following her removal, an caretaker administration under the guidance of economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A general election is planned for February 2026.

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

Hasina warned in the previous month that if the the League's representatives were banned from standing in the forthcoming vote, countless would abstain the election.

The judgment creates a diplomatic challenge for the neighboring countries. Authorities have sought her return but so far India has shown no willingness to acquiesce.

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

"I even cannot appeal because my defendants are not present; which is why I am disappointed," he continued.

Recently, Hasina's lawyers said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN raising major judicial fairness and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial together with her previous domestic affairs official and security forces head.

While the sentence offers some closure to families of killed in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the nation's partisan rifts.

"The fury directed at Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League has not subsided," a Dhaka-based rights activist stated to media outlets. "Neither she nor the party has expressed regret or shown any remorse for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The activist stated "This complicates matters for the party to be accepted by a majority of people in this country."

The activist added that the sentence was not finality for the kin of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We support several people who lost their limbs forever, they are currently without limbs, because of the suppression. They will never be able to forgive her."

A journalist, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it increasingly challenging" for her party to become a standard element of the nation's political landscape again.

This could alter if "an expression of regret occurs and a separation from the former leader and the former hierarchy," he said.