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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been given a death sentence for atrocities due to her crackdown on student-led protests which caused her forced departure.

Hasina was declared culpable of authorizing deadly measures to be used against demonstrators, among whom around 1,400 people were killed during the unrest in the previous year.

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

Prosecutors accused her of being behind hundreds of killings during the protests. Hasina has denied every accusation, describing the process as "unfair and agenda-driven".

This judgment represents a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over extended periods of oppression. Relatives of the deceased and wounded had demanded strict sentences.

Answering the judgment in a detailed document, she expressed the death penalty was the temporary leadership's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was content of her leadership's history on civil liberties.

"I do not fear to meet my challengers in a fair court where the facts can be assessed and examined justly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under increased safeguards before the verdict on Monday, with several of her detractors organizing a demonstration and applauding as the judgment was announced.

Dhaka experienced a notable rise in turmoil, with multiple explosives detonated and coaches ignited in the time before the verdict.

One explosive incident was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, local police official Jisanul Haque informed news organizations.

The student-led uprising in the previous year began with demands to abolish state employment quotas but transformed into a broader opposition campaign.

UN human rights investigators declared in an analysis in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could constitute "violations of human dignity".

The report documented the firing at close quarters of some protesters, the deliberate maiming of further participants, arbitrary arrests and torture.

Disclosed sound files of a telephone conversation involving Hasina confirmed by investigative sources during the current year suggested she had authorized the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the trial.

Before the decision, relatives of those killed during the protests told press outlets they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

One relative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for her and co-accused who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and abused their power".

A different family member, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "executed before the election".

"Only then the kin of victims [in the protests] will find peace in their minds."

Since Hasina's ousting, an temporary leadership under the guidance of economist Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A national vote is scheduled for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the Hasina's political party, Hasina's political party, was outlawed by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

She alerted in the previous month that if the the League's representatives were barred from participating in the imminent electoral process, countless would abstain the vote.

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

Her officially designated attorney her legal counsel said he was "sad [and wishes] the outcome had varied".

"I even cannot appeal because my defendants are not present; for that reason I am sad," he added.

Last week, Hasina's lawyers said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN raising serious fair trial and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Hasina was tried alongside her previous domestic affairs official and police chief.

While the sentence grants partial finality to families of killed in the protests, it may not significantly ease the state's ideological splits.

"The anger against Hasina and the her political party has not decreased," a Dhaka-based rights activist informed media outlets. "Neither she nor the party has expressed regret or demonstrated contrition for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The activist stated "This complicates matters for the party to be accepted by a bulk of the population in this country."

The activist added that the sentence was not resolution for the families of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We assist multiple individuals who suffered permanent amputations, they are currently without limbs, due to the crackdown. They cannot pardon her."

David Bergman, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it increasingly challenging" for the political faction to become a regular participant of the country's governance system again.

This may change if "there is some kind of apology and a separation from Hasina and the old leadership," he stated.