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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been sentenced to death for atrocities due to her harsh response on student-led protests which caused her ousting.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of permitting fatal actions to be used against protesters, among whom around 1,400 people lost their lives during the turmoil in the previous year.

The trial proceeded while she was absent by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being the mastermind of hundreds of killings during the protests. She has refuted all charges, calling the trial as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The decision signifies a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over long-standing suppression. Families of those killed and wounded had requested severe punishments.

Answering the judgment in a detailed document, she expressed the capital punishment was the caretaker administration's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was satisfied of her government's record on human rights.

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

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under enhanced protection before the decision on Monday, with several of her detractors organizing a demonstration and applauding as the judgment was announced.

Dhaka experienced a recent spike in disturbances, with multiple explosives detonated and coaches ignited in the period preceding the verdict.

One explosive incident was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, local police official the authorities' representative informed news organizations.

The protest movement led by students during 2024 began with demands to abolish government job quotas but morphed into a broader opposition campaign.

UN human rights investigators declared in an analysis in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could constitute "human rights atrocities".

The study recorded the shooting at point-blank range of certain demonstrators, the purposeful disabling of additional individuals, unjustified apprehensions and abuse.

Leaked audio of a telephone conversation involving Hasina authenticated by investigative sources in previous months indicated she had approved the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the trial.

Prior to the ruling, kin of those killed during the protests informed news agencies they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

Ramjan Ali, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for Hasina and others who have "committed acts of vengeance and abused their power".

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 kin of victims [in the protests] will achieve closure in their hearts."

Since Hasina's ousting, an caretaker administration under the guidance of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A parliamentary election is set for February 2026.

However, the her former political organization, Hasina's political party, was outlawed by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

Hasina warned in the previous month that if the party's candidates were barred from participating in the upcoming election, millions would boycott the vote.

The judgment creates a international dilemma for both nations. The Bangladesh government has asked her repatriation but until now India has expressed no readiness to comply.

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

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

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

Legal proceedings involved Hasina alongside her former home minister and top law enforcement officer.

While the sentence offers some closure to families of killed in the protests, it may not significantly ease the state's ideological splits.

"The fury directed at Sheikh Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not subsided," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka informed media outlets. "Neither she nor the party has expressed regret or demonstrated contrition for the deaths of numerous individuals."

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

The activist added 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 currently without limbs, as a result of the harsh measures. They will never be able to forgive her."

An analyst, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it particularly hard" for her party to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.

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