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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been given a death sentence for crimes against humanity over her harsh response on student-led protests which resulted in her forced departure.

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

Hasina was tried without her presence by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being responsible for hundreds of killings during the protests. The former leader rejected all charges, labeling the proceedings as "biased and politically motivated".

This judgment represents a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over extended periods of oppression. Families of those killed and injured had demanded strict sentences.

Responding to the decision in a comprehensive declaration, she expressed the death penalty was the caretaker administration's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was content of her leadership's history on human rights.

"I do not fear to meet my challengers in a proper tribunal where the facts can be assessed and reviewed impartially."

The capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under tightened security ahead of the verdict on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina staging a rally and applauding as the verdict was read.

Dhaka experienced a sudden increase in unrest, 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 casualties reported, area law enforcement officer the authorities' representative told press agencies.

The youth-driven revolt during 2024 commenced through demands to abolish public sector reservation policies but evolved into a more extensive dissent initiative.

United Nations rights examiners stated in a document in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could represent "crimes against humanity".

The study recorded the gunfire from minimal distance of certain demonstrators, the deliberate maiming of further participants, arbitrary arrests and mistreatment.

Unauthorized recordings of a telephone conversation involving Hasina verified by investigative sources earlier this year suggested she had authorized the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the proceedings.

Prior to the ruling, family members of those fatally injured in the unrest stated to media representatives they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

Ramjan Ali, 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 abused their power".

Another relative, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "carried out before the election".

"Only then the kin of victims [in the protests] will achieve closure in their minds."

After her departure, an caretaker administration under the guidance of economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A general election is scheduled for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the her former political organization, 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 forthcoming vote, numerous would avoid the ballot.

The verdict now poses a foreign relations issue for both nations. The Bangladesh government has asked her extradition but to date India has demonstrated no inclination to comply.

The legal representative assigned to her Mohammad Amir Hossain 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 sad," he added.

Last week, her legal team said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN pointing out major judicial fairness and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina alongside her ex-interior minister and police chief.

While the sentence grants partial finality to kin of victims in the protests, it may not significantly ease the state's ideological splits.

"The fury directed at the former leader and the her political party has not diminished," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka told news organizations. "Neither she nor the party has apologised or displayed repentance for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The advocate declared "This creates challenges for the faction to gain approval by a bulk of the population in this country."

The activist added that the punishment was not closure for the relatives of those killed and injured.

"We work with numerous persons who lost their limbs forever, they are currently without limbs, because of the suppression. They cannot pardon her."

An analyst, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a standard element of Bangladeshi politics again.

This could alter if "an expression of regret occurs and a disassociation with the former leader and the former hierarchy," he stated.