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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been sentenced to death for human rights violations over her crackdown on student-led protests which resulted in her forced departure.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of permitting fatal actions to be used against protesters, among whom around 1,400 people lost their lives during the unrest last year.

Legal proceedings were conducted in absentia by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being behind multiple fatalities during the protests. The former leader rejected every accusation, labeling the proceedings as "biased and politically motivated".

This judgment represents a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over extended periods of oppression. Families of those killed and injured had demanded strict sentences.

Reacting to the verdict in a detailed document, she expressed the execution sentence was the caretaker administration's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a governing body and that she was proud of her administration's performance on civil liberties.

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

The capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under enhanced protection prior to the verdict on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina holding a protest and cheering as the judgment was announced.

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 recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, area law enforcement officer the police spokesperson informed press agencies.

The protest movement led by students during 2024 began with requests to remove state employment quotas but morphed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

UN human rights investigators stated in a document in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could represent "human rights atrocities".

The study recorded the gunfire from minimal distance of a number of activists, the intentional injuring of additional individuals, unjustified apprehensions and mistreatment.

Disclosed sound files of a call made by the former leader authenticated by investigative sources in previous months indicated she had approved the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the trial.

Before the decision, relatives of those killed during the protests told news agencies they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

Ramjan Ali, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for the former leader and associates who have "performed revengeful deeds and abused their power".

Another relative, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "carried out before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will find peace in their hearts."

After her departure, an interim government led by economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A national vote is planned for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the Awami League, the former ruling party, was outlawed by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

Hasina warned in the previous month that if the the League's representatives were barred from participating in the imminent electoral process, countless would abstain the election.

The verdict now poses a foreign relations issue for the neighboring countries. Dhaka has formally requested her return 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 decision had been otherwise".

"I cannot even contest because my represented individuals are away; for that reason I am disheartened," he stated further.

Recently, Hasina's lawyers said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN highlighting serious fair trial and due process issues at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina together with her former home minister and top law enforcement officer.

Even though the verdict grants partial finality to kin of victims in the protests, it may do little to soothe the nation's partisan rifts.

"The resentment towards the former leader and the her political party has not subsided," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka informed media outlets. "Neither she nor the party has apologised or displayed repentance for the fatalities of countless citizens."

She said "It makes it difficult for the organization to receive endorsement by a most citizens in this state."

The advocate continued that the penalty was not closure for the families of those who died and were wounded.

"We assist multiple individuals who lost their limbs forever, they are now disabled, due to the crackdown. They are incapable of excusing her."

An analyst, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it even more difficult" for Awami League to become a regular participant of the nation's political landscape again.

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