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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been given a death sentence for human rights violations over her crackdown on protests led by students which caused her forced departure.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of allowing lethal force to be used against protesters, 1,400 of whom died during the disturbances during 2024.

The trial proceeded while she was absent by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being responsible for multiple fatalities during the protests. Hasina has denied the entire case, labeling the proceedings as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The verdict marks a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over years of repression. Relatives of the deceased and harmed had requested strict sentences.

Answering the judgment in a detailed document, she expressed the death penalty was the caretaker administration's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a governing body and that she was satisfied of her leadership's history on human rights.

"I do not fear to confront those accusing me in a just legal forum where the facts can be assessed and tested fairly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under increased safeguards before the decision on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics holding a protest and applauding as the judgment was announced.

The city has seen a notable rise in disturbances, with numerous incendiary devices set off and public transport vehicles burned in the days leading up to the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, regional security representative Jisanul Haque informed news organizations.

The youth-driven revolt in the previous year started with requests to remove government job quotas but evolved into a more extensive dissent initiative.

United Nations rights examiners said in a report in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could constitute "human rights atrocities".

The study recorded the shooting at point-blank range of some protesters, the intentional injuring of additional individuals, unwarranted detentions and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of a telephone conversation involving Hasina verified by external reviews in previous months indicated she had authorized the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The audio was played 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.

Ramjan Ali, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for Hasina and others who have "committed acts of vengeance and exploited their positions".

A different family member, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "executed before the election".

"Only then the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will obtain solace in their hearts."

Following her removal, an temporary leadership headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A national vote is scheduled for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the her former political organization, the former ruling party, was outlawed by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

The former leader cautioned during the past month that if the her faction's nominees were prohibited from running in the forthcoming vote, numerous would avoid the ballot.

This decision presents a foreign relations issue for India and Bangladesh. The Bangladesh government has asked her return but to date India has expressed no readiness to acquiesce.

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

"I even cannot appeal because my clients are absent; for that reason I am sad," he added.

Last week, the defense attorneys said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN highlighting significant due process and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial together with her previous domestic affairs official and police chief.

While the sentence provides certain resolution to kin of victims in the protests, it may not significantly ease the state's ideological splits.

"The resentment towards the former leader and the her political party has not subsided," a Dhaka-based rights activist stated to news organizations. "Neither she nor the party has expressed regret or shown any remorse for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The advocate declared "This creates challenges for the party to be accepted by a bulk of the population in this nation."

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

"We support numerous persons who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are now disabled, as a result of the harsh measures. They are incapable of excusing her."

A journalist, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it even more difficult" for her party to become a regular participant of the nation's political landscape again.

This could alter if "there is some kind of apology and a disassociation with the former leader and the previous administration," he stated.