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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been sentenced to death for human rights violations over her harsh response on student-led protests which caused her forced departure.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of authorizing deadly measures to be used against protesters, with approximately 1,400 individuals lost their lives during the unrest during 2024.

The trial proceeded without her presence by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being behind numerous deaths during the protests. She has refuted every accusation, calling the trial as "biased and politically motivated".

The verdict marks a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over years of repression. Next of kin of victims and wounded had demanded severe punishments.

Responding to the decision in a detailed document, the former leader stated the death penalty was the temporary leadership's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a political force and that she was proud of her administration's performance on human rights.

"I have no trepidation to meet my challengers in a fair court where the evidence can be weighed and tested fairly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under increased safeguards prior to the decision on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina organizing a demonstration and applauding as the judgment was announced.

Dhaka experienced a recent spike in turmoil, with multiple explosives detonated and public transport vehicles burned in the period preceding the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, local police official the authorities' representative told press agencies.

The youth-driven revolt during 2024 began with calls to eliminate government job quotas but transformed into a broader opposition campaign.

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

The study recorded the shooting at point-blank range of certain demonstrators, the deliberate maiming of additional individuals, arbitrary arrests and mistreatment.

Disclosed sound files of a telephone conversation involving Hasina verified by external reviews during the current year implied she had authorized the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the trial.

Prior to the ruling, family members of those fatally injured in the unrest told 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 the former leader and associates who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and misused their authority".

Lucky Akther, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "implemented before the election".

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

Since Hasina's ousting, an interim government led by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A national vote is planned for February 2026.

However, the Hasina's political party, Hasina's political party, was outlawed by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

Hasina warned during the past month that if the party's candidates were prohibited from running in the forthcoming vote, countless would abstain the vote.

The judgment creates a international dilemma for the neighboring countries. Dhaka has formally requested her return but until now India has shown no willingness to agree.

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

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

Last week, the defense attorneys said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN raising major judicial fairness and due process issues at the ICT.

Hasina was tried together with her former home minister and police chief.

Even though the verdict offers some closure to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the state's ideological splits.

"The resentment towards Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not diminished," a human rights advocate from the capital told media outlets. "Neither she nor the party has expressed regret or demonstrated contrition for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The advocate declared "This complicates matters for the faction to gain approval by a most citizens in this state."

The campaigner further stated that the punishment was not closure for the families of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We assist multiple individuals who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are amputees now, due to the crackdown. They cannot pardon her."

A journalist, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it particularly hard" for her party to become a regular participant of the country's governance system again.

This could alter if "an expression of regret occurs and a disassociation with Hasina and the previous administration," he stated.