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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been given a death sentence for atrocities stemming from her crackdown on youth demonstrations which resulted in her removal from power.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of authorizing deadly measures to be used against protesters, with approximately 1,400 individuals died during the turmoil during 2024.

Hasina was tried while she was absent by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being behind numerous deaths during the protests. She has refuted every accusation, describing the process as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

This judgment represents a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over years of repression. Relatives of the deceased and injured had called for severe punishments.

Reacting to the verdict in a detailed document, she expressed the capital punishment was the caretaker administration's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a electoral entity and that she was satisfied of her leadership's history on human rights.

"I do not fear to face my accusers in a just legal forum where the proof can be evaluated and examined justly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under tightened security ahead of the decision on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics staging a rally and celebrating as the judgment was announced.

Dhaka experienced a recent spike in disturbances, with multiple explosives detonated and public transport vehicles burned in the time before the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, local police official the authorities' representative informed media outlets.

The student-led uprising last year commenced through demands to abolish government job quotas but transformed into a broader opposition campaign.

International human rights monitors declared in an analysis in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could amount to "violations of human dignity".

The paper detailed the shooting at point-blank range of certain demonstrators, the purposeful disabling of others, arbitrary arrests and mistreatment.

Leaked audio of a telephone conversation involving Hasina verified by media examinations in previous months implied she had authorized the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the proceedings.

Before the decision, kin of those killed during the protests informed media representatives they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

One relative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for her and co-accused who have "performed revengeful deeds 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".

"Solely at that point the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will achieve closure in their minds."

Since Hasina's ousting, an temporary leadership headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A general election is planned for February 2026.

However, the Hasina's political party, her political faction, was outlawed by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

She alerted during the past month that if the the League's representatives were prohibited from running in the upcoming election, millions would boycott the vote.

The judgment creates a international dilemma for the neighboring countries. Dhaka has formally requested her return but to date India has shown no willingness to acquiesce.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer her legal counsel said he was "disappointed and hoping the decision had been otherwise".

"I even cannot appeal because my defendants are not present; which is why I am disheartened," he stated further.

Recently, her legal team said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN raising major judicial fairness and due process issues at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial alongside her ex-interior minister and police chief.

Although the punishment grants partial finality to families of killed in the protests, it may not significantly ease the country's political divisions.

"The fury directed at Sheikh Hasina and the her political party has not decreased," a Dhaka-based rights activist stated to news organizations. "Both she and the organization has said sorry or shown any remorse for the killings of hundreds of people."

The activist stated "It makes it difficult for the faction to gain approval by a bulk of the population in this country."

The campaigner further stated that the sentence was not resolution for the relatives of those killed and injured.

"We support several people who lost their limbs forever, they are amputees now, as a result of the harsh measures. They cannot pardon her."

A journalist, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it particularly hard" for Awami League to become a regular participant of Bangladeshi politics again.

This might transform if "an expression of regret occurs and a disassociation with the former leader and the old leadership," he expressed.