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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been given a death sentence for human rights violations stemming from her harsh response on youth demonstrations which led to her ousting.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of allowing lethal force to be used against protesters, among whom around 1,400 people lost their lives during the unrest during 2024.

Legal proceedings were conducted while she was absent by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being the mastermind of hundreds of killings during the protests. The former leader rejected all charges, calling the trial as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The decision signifies a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over long-standing suppression. Relatives of the deceased and wounded had demanded strict sentences.

Answering the judgment in a comprehensive declaration, she expressed the death penalty was the temporary leadership's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a governing body and that she was proud of her administration's performance on individual freedoms.

"I am not afraid to meet my challengers in a fair court where the facts can be assessed and reviewed impartially."

The capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under tightened security before the decision on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics holding a protest and cheering as the judgment was announced.

The capital witnessed a recent spike in unrest, with dozens of bombs exploded and coaches ignited in the time before the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, regional security representative the authorities' representative told press agencies.

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

International human rights monitors said in a report in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could amount to "human rights atrocities".

The study recorded the firing at close quarters of a number of activists, the deliberate maiming of further participants, unjustified apprehensions and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of a telephone conversation involving Hasina verified by investigative sources earlier this year indicated she had sanctioned the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the proceedings.

Ahead of the verdict, family members of those who died in the demonstrations informed press outlets they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

A family representative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for the former leader and associates who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and misused their authority".

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

"Solely at that point the families of those killed [in the protests] will achieve closure in their hearts."

Since Hasina's ousting, an interim government under the guidance of economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A parliamentary election is planned for February 2026.

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

She alerted during the past month that if the her faction's nominees were barred from participating in the imminent electoral process, countless would abstain the vote.

This decision presents a foreign relations issue for India and Bangladesh. Authorities have sought her return but until now India has expressed no readiness to acquiesce.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer the defense lawyer said he was "sad [and wishes] the outcome had varied".

"I even cannot appeal because my defendants are not present; for that reason I am sad," he stated further.

The previous week, the defense attorneys said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN pointing out serious fair trial and due process issues at the ICT.

Hasina was tried together with her former home 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 state's ideological splits.

"The anger against Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League has not diminished," a Dhaka-based rights activist stated to news organizations. "Both she and the organization has said sorry or demonstrated contrition for the fatalities of countless citizens."

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

The activist added that the punishment was not closure for the relatives of those killed and injured.

"We assist multiple individuals who lost their limbs forever, they are now disabled, because of the suppression. They are incapable of excusing her."

David Bergman, 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 may change if "there is some kind of apology and a distancing from Sheikh Hasina and the former hierarchy," he expressed.