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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been sentenced to death for atrocities stemming from her severe measures on protests led by students which resulted in her forced departure.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of allowing lethal force to be used against protesters, among whom around 1,400 people were killed during the unrest last year.

Legal proceedings were conducted without her presence by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being the mastermind of multiple fatalities during the protests. She has refuted all charges, describing the process as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The verdict marks a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over long-standing suppression. Families of those killed and wounded had called for strict sentences.

Responding to the decision in a comprehensive declaration, Hasina said the death penalty was the temporary leadership's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a political force and that she was proud of her leadership's history on civil liberties.

"I am not afraid to meet my challengers in a fair court where the proof can be evaluated and tested fairly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under increased safeguards before the ruling on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina holding a protest and applauding as the sentence was declared.

Dhaka experienced a recent spike in disturbances, with dozens of bombs exploded and buses set on fire in the days leading up to the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, regional security representative the authorities' representative stated to press agencies.

The student-led uprising during 2024 started with calls to eliminate government job quotas but evolved into a wider anti-government movement.

UN human rights investigators declared in an analysis in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could represent "human rights atrocities".

The study recorded the firing at close quarters of certain demonstrators, the intentional injuring of additional individuals, unjustified apprehensions and abuse.

Disclosed sound files of one of Hasina's phone calls verified by investigative sources in previous months indicated she had sanctioned 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 killed during the protests stated to press outlets they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

One relative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for the former leader and associates 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 families of those killed [in the protests] will achieve closure in their hearts."

After her departure, an caretaker administration led by economist Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A national vote is set for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the Awami League, her political faction, was prohibited by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

She alerted during the past month that if the her faction's nominees were banned from standing in the forthcoming vote, millions would boycott the vote.

The judgment creates a diplomatic challenge for the neighboring countries. Dhaka has formally requested her extradition but until now India has demonstrated no inclination to agree.

The legal representative assigned to her the defense lawyer said he was "sad [and wishes] the outcome had varied".

"I even cannot appeal because my clients are absent; which is why I am disappointed," he added.

Last week, Hasina's lawyers said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN raising major judicial fairness and judicial process problems at the ICT.

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

Even though the verdict offers some closure to kin of victims in the protests, it may do little to soothe the state's ideological splits.

"The resentment towards the former leader and the Awami League has not diminished," a human rights advocate from the capital stated to media outlets. "The leader and her faction has expressed regret or shown any remorse for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The activist stated "It makes it difficult for the party to be accepted by a bulk of the population in this country."

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

"We assist several people who suffered permanent amputations, they are now disabled, because of the suppression. They will never be able to forgive her."

An analyst, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it even more difficult" for her party to become a standard element of Bangladeshi politics again.

This might transform if "a form of contrition emerges and a distancing from the former leader and the old leadership," he said.