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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been sentenced to death for human rights violations due to her harsh response on student-led protests which led to her ousting.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of permitting fatal actions to be used against activists, among whom around 1,400 people lost their lives during the disturbances during 2024.

Hasina was tried without her presence by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being behind hundreds of killings during the protests. She has refuted all charges, calling the trial as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

This judgment represents a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over extended periods of oppression. Next of kin of victims and wounded had called for tough penalties.

Answering the judgment in a comprehensive declaration, Hasina said the death penalty was the interim government's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a governing body and that she was content of her government's record on human rights.

"I am not afraid to face my accusers in a fair court where the proof can be evaluated and examined justly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under enhanced protection before the ruling on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics organizing a demonstration and cheering as the judgment was announced.

Dhaka experienced a sudden increase in unrest, with multiple explosives detonated and buses set on fire in the period preceding the verdict.

One explosive incident was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, local police official the authorities' representative told news organizations.

The protest movement led by students during 2024 began with demands to abolish state employment quotas but evolved into a more extensive dissent initiative.

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

The study recorded the gunfire from minimal distance of some protesters, the intentional injuring of additional individuals, arbitrary arrests and mistreatment.

Unauthorized recordings of a telephone conversation involving Hasina authenticated by external reviews during the current year indicated she had approved the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the proceedings.

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

Ramjan Ali, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for her and co-accused who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and exploited their positions".

A different family member, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "implemented before the election".

"Only then the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will find peace in their souls."

Since Hasina's ousting, an interim government led by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A parliamentary election is planned for February 2026.

However, the Awami League, her political faction, was outlawed by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

The former leader cautioned in the previous month that if the the League's representatives were banned from standing in the imminent electoral process, countless would abstain the ballot.

The verdict now poses a international dilemma for both nations. Dhaka has formally requested her extradition but to date India has expressed no readiness to comply.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "disappointed and hoping the decision had been otherwise".

"I am unable to challenge because my clients are absent; for that reason I am disheartened," he stated further.

The previous week, her legal team said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN raising major judicial fairness and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Hasina was tried alongside her former home minister and security forces head.

While the sentence offers some closure to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may do little to soothe the nation's partisan rifts.

"The fury directed at Sheikh Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not decreased," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka informed press agencies. "Neither she nor the party has expressed regret or demonstrated contrition for the killings of hundreds of people."

The activist stated "This complicates matters for the party to be accepted by a most citizens in this state."

The campaigner further stated that the punishment was not closure for the kin of those killed and injured.

"We assist numerous persons who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are amputees now, as a result of the harsh measures. They cannot pardon her."

An analyst, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it even more difficult" for Awami League to become a standard element of the nation's political landscape again.

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