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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been sentenced to death for atrocities over her harsh response on student-led protests which led to her removal from power.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of permitting fatal actions to be used against demonstrators, with approximately 1,400 individuals were killed during the disturbances in the previous year.

The trial proceeded in absentia by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being the mastermind of hundreds of killings during the protests. The former leader rejected the entire case, calling the trial as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The verdict marks a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over long-standing suppression. Families of those killed and wounded had called for strict sentences.

Reacting to the verdict in a five-page statement, she expressed the death penalty was the caretaker administration's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was content of her administration's performance on civil liberties.

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

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under increased safeguards prior to the decision on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina holding a protest and cheering as the sentence was declared.

The capital witnessed a sudden increase in turmoil, with numerous incendiary devices set off and public transport vehicles burned in the days leading up to the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, regional security representative the authorities' representative told press agencies.

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

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

The report documented the shooting at point-blank range of a number of activists, the intentional injuring of additional individuals, unjustified apprehensions and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader confirmed by investigative sources during the current year suggested she had approved the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the trial.

Prior to the ruling, kin of those who died in the demonstrations told press outlets they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

A family representative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for the former leader and associates who have "performed revengeful deeds and misused their authority".

Lucky Akther, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "executed before the election".

"Solely at that point the families of those killed [in the protests] will achieve closure in their hearts."

After her departure, an interim government led by economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A general election is scheduled for February 2026.

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

Hasina warned during the past month that if the her faction's nominees were prohibited from running in the forthcoming vote, countless would abstain the election.

This decision presents a international dilemma for both nations. Authorities have sought her repatriation but to date India has demonstrated no inclination to comply.

The legal representative assigned to her Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "sad [and wishes] the verdict had been different".

"I cannot even contest because my clients are absent; which is why I am sad," he stated further.

The previous week, the defense attorneys said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN pointing out significant due process and due process issues at the ICT.

Hasina was tried together with her previous domestic affairs official and security forces head.

Although the punishment provides certain resolution to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the country's political divisions.

"The fury directed at the former leader and the the former ruling faction has not subsided," a human rights advocate from the capital told press agencies. "Both she and the organization has expressed regret or displayed repentance for the deaths of numerous individuals."

She said "This creates challenges for the organization to receive endorsement by a most citizens in this nation."

The activist added that the penalty was not finality for the relatives of those who died and were wounded.

"We assist multiple individuals who lost their limbs forever, they are now disabled, as a result of the harsh measures. They will never be able to forgive her."

A journalist, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it even more difficult" for the political faction to become a regular participant of Bangladeshi politics again.

This might transform if "there is some kind of apology and a distancing from Sheikh Hasina and the old leadership," he said.