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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been sentenced to death for human rights violations due to her harsh response on student-led protests which caused her ousting.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of permitting fatal actions to be used against protesters, among whom around 1,400 people were killed during the disturbances last year.

Hasina was tried while she was absent 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 responsible for hundreds of killings during the protests. Hasina has denied every accusation, labeling the proceedings as "biased and politically motivated".

This judgment represents a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over long-standing suppression. Relatives of the deceased and wounded had demanded strict sentences.

Responding to the decision in a five-page statement, she expressed the execution sentence was the interim government's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was content of her administration's performance on civil liberties.

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

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under increased safeguards ahead of the verdict on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina holding a protest and cheering as the verdict was read.

Dhaka experienced a sudden increase in disturbances, with numerous incendiary devices set off and buses set on fire in the days leading up to the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, regional security representative the police spokesperson informed press agencies.

The youth-driven revolt last year started with demands to abolish government job quotas but transformed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

International human rights monitors stated in a document in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could constitute "crimes against humanity".

The study recorded the firing at close quarters of certain demonstrators, the purposeful disabling of additional individuals, arbitrary arrests and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of one of Hasina's phone calls verified by external reviews earlier this year indicated she had sanctioned the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the legal process.

Before the decision, relatives of those who died in the demonstrations stated to press outlets they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

A family representative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for the former leader and associates who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and abused their power".

A different family member, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "executed before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will obtain solace in their hearts."

After her departure, an caretaker administration headed by economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A general election is set for February 2026.

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

The former leader cautioned in the previous month that if the party's candidates were prohibited from running in the imminent electoral process, countless would abstain the vote.

The verdict now poses a foreign relations issue for the neighboring countries. Authorities have sought her repatriation but to date India has demonstrated no inclination to agree.

The legal representative assigned to her Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "unhappy and desiring the outcome had varied".

"I am unable to challenge because my defendants are not present; that's why I am disappointed," he stated further.

Recently, the defense attorneys said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN highlighting major judicial fairness and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial in conjunction with her former home minister and security forces head.

Although the punishment grants partial finality to kin of victims in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the state's ideological splits.

"The fury directed at Sheikh Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not subsided," a human rights advocate from the capital informed media outlets. "Both she and the organization has expressed regret or displayed repentance for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The advocate declared "This complicates matters for the faction to gain approval by a bulk of the population in this nation."

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

"We support numerous persons who lost their limbs forever, they are now disabled, because of the suppression. They will never be able to forgive her."

David Bergman, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict 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 expressed.