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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been given a death sentence for atrocities stemming from her crackdown on protests led by students which resulted in her ousting.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of allowing lethal force to be used against protesters, among whom around 1,400 people lost their lives during the disturbances in the previous year.

The trial proceeded in absentia by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India following her ouster in July 2024.

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

The verdict marks a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over years of repression. Next of kin of victims and injured had requested severe punishments.

Responding to the decision in a five-page statement, Hasina said the death penalty was the interim government's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a electoral entity and that she was proud of her leadership's history on civil liberties.

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

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under increased safeguards before the ruling on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics staging a rally and applauding as the verdict was read.

The capital witnessed a sudden increase in unrest, with dozens of bombs exploded 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, local police official the police spokesperson stated to media outlets.

The protest movement led by students in the previous year commenced through calls to eliminate government job quotas but transformed into a broader opposition campaign.

UN human rights investigators stated in a document in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could constitute "crimes against humanity".

The paper detailed the shooting at point-blank range of a number of activists, the purposeful disabling of further participants, unjustified apprehensions and abuse.

Unauthorized recordings of one of Hasina's phone calls authenticated by media examinations earlier this year indicated she had approved the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the legal process.

Before the decision, family members of those killed during the protests told press outlets they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

A family representative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for her and co-accused who have "performed revengeful deeds and exploited their positions".

A different family member, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "implemented before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will obtain solace in their hearts."

After her departure, an temporary leadership led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A general election is scheduled for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the Awami League, Hasina's political party, was outlawed by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

She alerted in the previous month that if the her faction's nominees were barred from participating in the upcoming election, countless would abstain the vote.

The judgment creates a diplomatic challenge for India and Bangladesh. The Bangladesh government has asked her return but until now India has expressed no readiness to comply.

Her officially designated attorney Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "disappointed and hoping the decision had been otherwise".

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

Recently, the defense attorneys said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN highlighting major judicial fairness and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Hasina was tried alongside her previous domestic affairs official and police chief.

Even though the verdict provides certain resolution to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may do little to soothe the country's political divisions.

"The fury directed at Sheikh Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not diminished," a human rights advocate from the capital told press agencies. "Both she and the organization has expressed regret or shown any remorse for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The activist stated "This creates challenges for the party to be accepted by a most citizens in this nation."

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

"We support multiple individuals who lost their limbs forever, they are now disabled, because of the suppression. They will never be able to forgive her."

A journalist, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it even more difficult" for her party to become a standard element of Bangladeshi politics again.

This may change if "an expression of regret occurs and a separation from Hasina and the previous administration," he said.