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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been given a death sentence for atrocities stemming from her severe measures on student-led protests which resulted in her forced departure.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of permitting fatal actions to be used against demonstrators, 1,400 of whom were killed during the unrest last year.

Hasina was tried while she was absent by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being the mastermind of numerous deaths during the protests. She has refuted every accusation, labeling the proceedings as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The verdict marks a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over years of repression. Families of those killed and injured had called for tough penalties.

Responding to the decision in a five-page statement, Hasina said the death penalty was the caretaker administration's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was content of her administration's performance on individual freedoms.

"I have no trepidation to meet my challengers in a proper tribunal where the evidence can be weighed and tested fairly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under increased safeguards ahead of the ruling on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics organizing a demonstration and cheering as the sentence was declared.

The capital witnessed a recent spike in disturbances, with multiple explosives detonated and public transport vehicles burned in the period preceding the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, area law enforcement officer the authorities' representative told press agencies.

The youth-driven revolt during 2024 started with calls to eliminate government job quotas but transformed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

International human rights monitors said in a report in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could constitute "human rights atrocities".

The report documented the gunfire from minimal distance of some protesters, the purposeful disabling of additional individuals, arbitrary arrests and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader authenticated by external reviews in previous months indicated she had authorized the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the legal process.

Ahead of the verdict, family members of those fatally injured in the unrest stated to press outlets they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

One relative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for the former leader and associates who have "committed acts of vengeance and misused their authority".

A different family member, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "executed before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the families of those killed [in the protests] will find peace in their souls."

Following her removal, an temporary leadership headed by economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A national vote is set for February 2026.

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

The former leader cautioned last month that if the her faction's nominees were prohibited from running in the forthcoming vote, numerous would avoid the election.

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

Her officially designated attorney Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "sad [and wishes] the verdict had been different".

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

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

Legal proceedings involved Hasina together with her previous domestic affairs official and security forces head.

Even though the verdict provides certain resolution to families of killed in the protests, it may do little to soothe the state's ideological splits.

"The resentment towards Sheikh Hasina and the her political party has not decreased," a Dhaka-based rights activist stated to media outlets. "The leader and her faction has apologised or shown any remorse for the killings of hundreds of people."

She said "This creates challenges for the organization to receive endorsement by a majority of people in this state."

The activist added that the penalty was not resolution for the relatives of those killed and injured.

"We assist numerous persons who lost their limbs forever, they are amputees now, because of the suppression. They cannot pardon 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 her party to become a normal feature of the nation's political landscape again.

This could alter if "a form of contrition emerges and a distancing from Hasina and the former hierarchy," he said.