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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been sentenced to death for atrocities stemming from her crackdown on protests led by students which led to her ousting.

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

The trial proceeded without her presence by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being responsible for multiple fatalities during the protests. She has refuted the entire case, calling the trial as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The decision signifies a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over years of repression. Families of those killed and wounded had demanded severe punishments.

Answering the judgment in a detailed document, Hasina said the death penalty was the temporary leadership's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a governing body and that she was satisfied of her government's record on human rights.

"I am not afraid to face my accusers in a just legal forum where the evidence can be weighed and examined justly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under increased safeguards before the ruling on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics holding a protest and cheering as the verdict was read.

Dhaka experienced a notable rise in disturbances, with numerous incendiary devices set off and coaches ignited in the period preceding the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, area law enforcement officer the authorities' representative informed press agencies.

The student-led uprising last year began with calls to eliminate state employment quotas but evolved into a wider anti-government movement.

UN human rights investigators said in a report in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could amount to "violations of human dignity".

The study recorded the shooting at point-blank range of certain demonstrators, the intentional injuring of further participants, unjustified apprehensions and torture.

Leaked audio of a telephone conversation involving Hasina confirmed by media examinations in previous months suggested she had authorized the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the proceedings.

Before the decision, kin of those who died in the demonstrations informed news agencies they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

Ramjan Ali, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for Hasina and others who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and abused their power".

Another relative, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "executed before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the families of those killed [in the protests] will obtain solace in their hearts."

After her departure, an interim government under the guidance of economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A parliamentary election is scheduled for February 2026.

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

Hasina warned in the previous month that if the party's candidates were banned from standing in the forthcoming vote, countless would abstain the ballot.

The judgment creates a international dilemma for India and Bangladesh. Authorities have sought her extradition but until now India has expressed no readiness to comply.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "unhappy and desiring the outcome had varied".

"I am unable to challenge because my clients are absent; that's why I am disappointed," he continued.

Last week, her legal team said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN pointing out significant due process and due process issues at the ICT.

Hasina was tried together with her ex-interior minister and top law enforcement officer.

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

"The resentment towards the former leader and the the former ruling faction has not diminished," a human rights advocate from the capital stated to media outlets. "Neither she nor the party has said sorry or demonstrated contrition for the deaths of numerous individuals."

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

The campaigner further stated that the penalty was not finality for the relatives of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We support multiple individuals who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are now disabled, as a result of the harsh measures. They will never be able to forgive her."

An analyst, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a normal feature of the country's governance system again.

This might transform if "an expression of regret occurs and a distancing from the former leader and the old leadership," he said.