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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 resulted in her ousting.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of allowing lethal force to be used against activists, among whom around 1,400 people were killed during the unrest during 2024.

Hasina was tried while she was absent by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being responsible for numerous deaths during the protests. The former leader rejected the entire case, describing the process as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The verdict marks a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over years of repression. Families of those killed and wounded had demanded tough penalties.

Responding to the decision in a five-page statement, she expressed the capital punishment was the caretaker administration's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a political force and that she was content of her government's record on human rights.

"I am not afraid to meet my challengers in a just legal forum where the evidence can be weighed and reviewed impartially."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under enhanced protection ahead of the verdict on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina holding a protest and cheering as the verdict was read.

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

One explosive incident was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, regional security representative the authorities' representative informed press agencies.

The protest movement led by students in the previous year started with demands to abolish state employment quotas but morphed into a broader opposition campaign.

International human rights monitors stated in a document in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could amount to "human rights atrocities".

The report documented the shooting at point-blank range of certain demonstrators, the intentional injuring of others, arbitrary arrests and torture.

Disclosed sound files of one of Hasina's phone calls verified by investigative sources during the current year indicated she had sanctioned the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the legal process.

Before the decision, family members of those fatally injured in the unrest stated to press outlets they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

A family representative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for Hasina and others who have "performed revengeful deeds and abused their power".

Lucky Akther, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "carried out before the election".

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

Following her removal, an interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A national vote is scheduled for February 2026.

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

She alerted during the past month that if the party's candidates were banned from standing in the imminent electoral process, countless would abstain the ballot.

The verdict now poses a diplomatic challenge for India and Bangladesh. The Bangladesh government has asked her return but to date India has shown no willingness to agree.

The legal representative assigned to her her legal counsel said he was "disappointed and hoping the outcome had varied".

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

Recently, the defense attorneys said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN pointing out serious fair trial and due process issues at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial in conjunction with her previous domestic affairs official and security forces head.

While the sentence grants partial finality to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may not significantly ease the country's political divisions.

"The resentment towards the former leader and the the former ruling faction has not subsided," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka informed press agencies. "The leader and her faction has apologised or displayed repentance for the killings of hundreds of people."

The activist stated "This complicates matters for the organization to receive endorsement by a majority of people in this state."

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

"We support several people who suffered permanent amputations, they are amputees now, due to the crackdown. They cannot pardon her."

An analyst, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it particularly hard" for Awami League to become a standard element of Bangladeshi politics again.

This could alter if "there is some kind of apology and a distancing from Sheikh Hasina and the former hierarchy," he stated.