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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been given a death sentence for atrocities over her harsh response on student-led protests which caused her forced departure.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of allowing lethal force to be used against demonstrators, 1,400 of whom died during the disturbances in the previous year.

Legal proceedings were conducted in absentia by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being responsible for multiple fatalities during the protests. The former leader rejected the entire case, describing the process as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

This judgment represents a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over extended periods of oppression. Families of those killed and wounded had called for tough penalties.

Responding to the decision in a comprehensive declaration, the former leader stated the capital punishment was the temporary leadership's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a political force and that she was content of her administration's performance on human rights.

"I am not afraid to meet my challengers in a proper tribunal where the facts can be assessed and examined justly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under enhanced protection before the ruling on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina holding a protest and cheering as the verdict was read.

The city has seen a notable rise in disturbances, with numerous incendiary devices set off and public transport vehicles burned in the period preceding the verdict.

One explosive incident was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, local police official the police spokesperson informed media outlets.

The protest movement led by students during 2024 began with requests to remove state employment quotas but morphed into a broader opposition campaign.

International human rights monitors declared in an analysis in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could constitute "crimes against humanity".

The paper detailed the firing at close quarters of some protesters, the deliberate maiming of further participants, arbitrary arrests and mistreatment.

Unauthorized recordings of one of Hasina's phone calls verified by external reviews during the current year suggested she had sanctioned the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the trial.

Ahead of the verdict, family members of those who died in the demonstrations told media representatives they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

Ramjan Ali, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for the former leader and associates who have "performed revengeful deeds and abused their power".

Another relative, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "implemented before the election".

"Solely at that point the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will obtain solace in their souls."

Since Hasina's ousting, an interim government under the guidance of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A general election is set for February 2026.

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

She alerted in the previous month that if the party's candidates were banned from standing in the upcoming election, millions would boycott the ballot.

The verdict now poses a international dilemma for both nations. Authorities have sought her extradition but to date India has expressed no readiness to acquiesce.

The legal representative assigned to her her legal counsel said he was "unhappy and desiring the verdict had been different".

"I even cannot appeal because my defendants are not present; that's why I am sad," he continued.

Recently, Hasina's lawyers said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN raising significant due process and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina in conjunction with her former home minister and police chief.

Although the punishment provides certain resolution to kin of victims in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the nation's partisan rifts.

"The resentment towards the former leader and the the former ruling faction has not decreased," a human rights advocate from the capital informed news organizations. "Both she and the organization has said sorry or displayed repentance for the killings of hundreds of people."

The advocate declared "This creates challenges for the party to be accepted by a most citizens in this state."

The campaigner further stated that the penalty was not finality for the relatives of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We work with numerous persons who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are amputees now, as a result of the harsh measures. They are incapable of excusing her."

A journalist, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it even more difficult" for the political faction to become a standard element of the country's governance system again.

This may change if "there is some kind of apology and a disassociation with Hasina and the former hierarchy," he stated.