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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been given a death sentence for atrocities due to her harsh response on protests led by students which caused her removal from power.

Hasina was declared culpable of permitting fatal actions to be used against protesters, among whom around 1,400 people died during the unrest in the previous year.

Hasina was tried while she was absent by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being responsible for numerous deaths during the protests. The former leader rejected the entire case, labeling the proceedings as "biased and politically motivated".

The decision signifies a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over long-standing suppression. Next of kin of victims and injured had requested strict sentences.

Reacting to the verdict in a comprehensive declaration, Hasina said the death penalty was the caretaker administration's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was satisfied of her leadership's history on human rights.

"I do not fear to meet my challengers in a proper tribunal where the proof can be evaluated and examined justly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under enhanced protection prior to the decision on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina organizing a demonstration and celebrating as the judgment was announced.

Dhaka experienced a sudden increase 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 casualties reported, area law enforcement officer the police spokesperson informed news organizations.

The youth-driven revolt during 2024 began with demands to abolish state employment quotas but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.

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

The report documented the gunfire from minimal distance of a number of activists, the deliberate maiming of further participants, unjustified apprehensions and mistreatment.

Leaked audio of a call made by the former leader confirmed by investigative sources earlier this year implied she had sanctioned the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the proceedings.

Prior to the ruling, kin of those who died in the demonstrations informed news agencies they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

A family representative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for Hasina and others who have "performed revengeful deeds and exploited their positions".

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

"Only then the families of those killed [in the protests] will obtain solace in their minds."

After her departure, an caretaker administration under the guidance of economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A parliamentary election is scheduled for February 2026.

However, the Awami League, Hasina's political party, was prohibited by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

Hasina warned last month that if the party's candidates were prohibited from running in the imminent electoral process, millions would boycott the vote.

The verdict now poses a foreign relations issue for India and Bangladesh. Authorities have sought her extradition but so far India has expressed no readiness to acquiesce.

Her officially designated attorney her legal counsel 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 sad," he added.

The previous week, Hasina's lawyers said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN raising major judicial fairness and due process issues at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina in conjunction with her former home minister and security forces head.

Even though the verdict offers some closure to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may not significantly ease the nation's partisan rifts.

"The resentment towards Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League has not subsided," a human rights advocate from the capital stated to media outlets. "Both she and the organization has said sorry or demonstrated contrition for the fatalities of countless citizens."

She said "It makes it difficult for the party to be accepted by a bulk of the population in this state."

The advocate continued that the punishment was not closure for the families of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We support numerous persons who lost their limbs forever, they are amputees now, as a result of the harsh measures. They will never be able to forgive her."

A journalist, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it particularly hard" for her party to become a regular participant of Bangladeshi politics again.

This might transform if "there is some kind of apology and a disassociation with Sheikh Hasina and the previous administration," he stated.