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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been given a death sentence for atrocities over her harsh response on protests led by students which led to her forced departure.

Hasina was declared culpable of permitting fatal actions to be used against protesters, among whom around 1,400 people died during the unrest in the previous year.

Legal proceedings were conducted in absentia by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, as she resides in 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. She has refuted the entire case, labeling the proceedings as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The decision signifies a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over extended periods of oppression. Relatives of the deceased and injured had requested tough penalties.

Answering the judgment in a five-page statement, she expressed the capital punishment was the interim government's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a political force and that she was content of her leadership's history on civil liberties.

"I have no trepidation to face my accusers in a fair court where the facts can be assessed and reviewed impartially."

The capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under increased safeguards prior to the decision on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina staging a rally and cheering as the judgment was announced.

Dhaka experienced a sudden increase in unrest, with multiple explosives detonated and buses set on fire in the period preceding the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, local police official the authorities' representative informed press agencies.

The student-led uprising in the previous year started with demands to abolish public sector reservation policies but evolved into a more extensive dissent initiative.

International human rights monitors declared in an analysis in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could amount to "crimes against humanity".

The report documented the firing at close quarters of a number of activists, the deliberate maiming of further participants, unjustified apprehensions and mistreatment.

Unauthorized recordings of one of Hasina's phone calls authenticated by external reviews in previous months indicated she had sanctioned the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the legal process.

Ahead of the verdict, relatives of those who died in the demonstrations informed media representatives they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

One relative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for Hasina and others who have "performed revengeful deeds and exploited their positions".

Another relative, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "implemented before the election".

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

Since Hasina's ousting, an caretaker administration led by economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A general election is set for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the Awami League, Hasina's political party, was prohibited by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

Hasina warned during the past month that if the party's candidates were barred from participating in the imminent electoral process, countless would abstain the election.

This decision presents a international dilemma for the neighboring countries. Dhaka has formally requested her extradition but so far India has demonstrated no inclination to acquiesce.

Her officially designated attorney her legal counsel said he was "unhappy and desiring the verdict had been different".

"I am unable to challenge because my defendants are not present; that's why I am sad," he added.

The previous week, Hasina's lawyers said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN highlighting serious fair trial and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina alongside her former home minister and security forces head.

Although the punishment provides certain resolution to kin of victims in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the nation's partisan rifts.

"The anger against the former leader and the her political party has not subsided," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka informed press agencies. "Both she and the organization has said sorry or demonstrated contrition for the fatalities of countless citizens."

She said "This creates challenges for the party to be accepted by a bulk of the population in this nation."

The activist added that the punishment was not finality for the kin of those killed and injured.

"We support numerous persons who lost their limbs forever, they are now disabled, because of the suppression. They are incapable of excusing her."

David Bergman, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it even more difficult" for her party to become a standard element of Bangladeshi politics again.

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