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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been given a death sentence for atrocities over her harsh response on student-led protests which caused her ousting.

Hasina was declared culpable of allowing lethal force to be used against demonstrators, with approximately 1,400 individuals were killed during the disturbances during 2024.

Legal proceedings were conducted without her presence by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being responsible for hundreds of killings during the protests. Hasina has denied the entire case, calling the trial as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The decision signifies a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over extended periods of oppression. Next of kin of victims and harmed had requested tough penalties.

Responding to the decision in a comprehensive declaration, she expressed the death penalty was the temporary leadership's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a political force and that she was satisfied of her administration's performance on individual freedoms.

"I am not afraid to meet my challengers in a just legal forum where the proof can be evaluated and reviewed impartially."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under tightened security prior to the decision on Monday, with several of her detractors holding a protest and applauding as the judgment was announced.

Dhaka experienced a notable rise in turmoil, with multiple explosives detonated and buses set on fire in the period preceding the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, area law enforcement officer the authorities' representative told news organizations.

The student-led uprising last year began with demands to abolish public sector reservation policies but evolved into a broader opposition campaign.

International human rights monitors declared in an analysis in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could represent "violations of human dignity".

The paper detailed the shooting at point-blank range of a number of activists, the purposeful disabling of others, unjustified apprehensions and mistreatment.

Leaked audio of a telephone conversation involving Hasina authenticated by media examinations in previous months suggested she had approved the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the trial.

Prior to the ruling, relatives of those killed during the protests told news agencies they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

A family representative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for her and co-accused who have "committed acts of vengeance and misused their authority".

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

"Only then the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will find peace in their minds."

Since Hasina's ousting, an interim government under the guidance of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A general election is set for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the Hasina's political party, her political faction, was outlawed by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

She alerted during the past month that if the her faction's nominees were prohibited from running in the forthcoming vote, countless would abstain the election.

The judgment creates a international dilemma for India and Bangladesh. The Bangladesh government has asked her return but to date India has shown no willingness to comply.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer the defense lawyer said he was "disappointed and hoping the verdict had been different".

"I even cannot appeal because my clients are absent; that's why I am disheartened," he added.

Last week, the defense attorneys said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN highlighting major judicial fairness and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Hasina was tried together with her previous domestic affairs official and police chief.

Even though the verdict offers some closure to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may do little to soothe the country's political divisions.

"The anger against Sheikh Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not diminished," a human rights advocate from the capital stated to news organizations. "Neither she nor the party has said sorry or demonstrated contrition for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The advocate declared "It makes it difficult for the party to be accepted by a majority of people in this country."

The advocate continued that the sentence was not closure for the relatives of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We assist multiple individuals who suffered permanent amputations, they are now disabled, because of the suppression. They cannot pardon her."

An analyst, 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 standard element of the nation's political landscape again.

This might transform if "an expression of regret occurs and a separation from Hasina and the previous administration," he said.