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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been given a death sentence for human rights violations due to her severe measures on student-led protests which caused her forced departure.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of authorizing deadly measures to be used against protesters, 1,400 of whom were killed during the unrest during 2024.

Legal proceedings were conducted in absentia 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 numerous deaths during the protests. The former leader rejected every accusation, describing the process as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The decision signifies a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over extended periods of oppression. Next of kin of victims and injured had called for severe punishments.

Answering the judgment in a detailed document, the former leader stated the death penalty was the temporary leadership's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was content of her leadership's history on human rights.

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

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under enhanced protection ahead of the decision on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics organizing a demonstration and applauding as the sentence was declared.

The city has seen a sudden increase in turmoil, with dozens of bombs exploded and public transport vehicles burned in the period preceding the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, regional security representative the police spokesperson told news organizations.

The student-led uprising last year started with requests to remove state employment quotas but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.

United Nations rights examiners stated in a document in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could amount to "crimes against humanity".

The report documented the gunfire from minimal distance of some protesters, the deliberate maiming of further participants, arbitrary arrests and mistreatment.

Disclosed sound files of a call made by the former leader authenticated by investigative sources during the current year indicated she had authorized the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the proceedings.

Before the decision, family members of those fatally injured in the unrest told news agencies they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

A family representative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for the former leader and associates who have "performed revengeful deeds and misused their authority".

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

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

After her departure, an temporary leadership led by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A parliamentary 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 last month that if the the League's representatives were prohibited from running in the imminent electoral process, millions would boycott the ballot.

The judgment creates a diplomatic challenge for the neighboring countries. Authorities have sought her extradition but to date India has demonstrated no inclination to agree.

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

"I cannot even contest because my defendants are not present; which is why I am disappointed," he stated further.

Last week, her legal team said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN highlighting major judicial fairness and judicial process problems at the ICT.

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

Although the punishment grants partial finality to families of killed in the protests, it may do little to soothe the state's ideological splits.

"The anger against Sheikh Hasina and the her political party has not decreased," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka told news organizations. "Both she and the organization has expressed regret or shown any remorse for the fatalities of countless citizens."

She said "This complicates matters for the organization to receive endorsement by a most citizens in this country."

The campaigner further stated that the penalty was not finality for the relatives of those killed and injured.

"We support numerous persons who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are now disabled, due to the crackdown. They will never be able to forgive her."

A journalist, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it even more difficult" for her party to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.

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