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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been given a death sentence for atrocities over her harsh response on protests led by students which caused her ousting.

Hasina was declared culpable of permitting fatal actions to be used against protesters, with approximately 1,400 individuals were killed during the disturbances last year.

The trial proceeded while she was absent by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being behind hundreds of killings during the protests. She has refuted all charges, calling the trial as "unfair and agenda-driven".

This judgment represents a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over years of repression. Next of kin of victims and wounded had demanded tough penalties.

Answering the judgment in a detailed document, she expressed the capital punishment was the interim government's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a political force and that she was proud of her leadership's history on human rights.

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

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under tightened security before the verdict on Monday, with several of her detractors organizing a demonstration and applauding as the judgment was announced.

The city has seen a sudden increase in unrest, with dozens of bombs exploded and buses set on fire in the days leading up to the verdict.

One explosive incident was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, local police official Jisanul Haque stated to media outlets.

The youth-driven revolt during 2024 started with requests to remove state employment quotas but morphed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

International human rights monitors declared in an analysis in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could amount to "human rights atrocities".

The report documented the firing at close quarters of some protesters, the intentional injuring of additional individuals, unjustified apprehensions and abuse.

Disclosed sound files of a telephone conversation involving Hasina confirmed by external reviews earlier this year suggested she had approved the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the proceedings.

Ahead of the verdict, family members of those fatally injured in the unrest informed news agencies they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

A family representative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for her and co-accused who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and exploited their positions".

Another relative, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "executed 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 headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A general election is scheduled for February 2026.

However, the Awami League, Hasina's political party, was banned by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

Hasina warned in the previous month that if the party's candidates were banned from standing in the upcoming election, countless would abstain the ballot.

The verdict now poses a diplomatic challenge for India and Bangladesh. Authorities have sought her extradition but so far India has expressed no readiness to comply.

Her officially designated attorney her legal counsel said he was "unhappy and desiring the decision had been otherwise".

"I cannot even contest because my clients are absent; for that reason I am disappointed," he added.

Recently, her legal team said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN highlighting significant due process and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Hasina was tried alongside her former home minister and top law enforcement officer.

Even though the verdict offers some closure to kin of victims in the protests, it may do little to soothe the country's political divisions.

"The fury directed at Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League has not diminished," a human rights advocate from the capital stated to media outlets. "The leader and her faction has apologised or demonstrated contrition for the fatalities of countless citizens."

She said "This complicates matters for the organization to receive endorsement by a most citizens in this country."

The activist added that the punishment was not finality for the kin of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We assist numerous persons who suffered permanent amputations, they are currently without limbs, due to the crackdown. They will never be able to forgive her."

David Bergman, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it even more difficult" for the political faction to become a normal feature of the country's governance system again.

This may change if "an expression of regret occurs and a distancing from the former leader and the former hierarchy," he expressed.