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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been sentenced to death for atrocities stemming from her harsh response on student-led protests which resulted in her ousting.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of permitting fatal actions to be used against protesters, among whom around 1,400 people lost their lives during the unrest during 2024.

Legal proceedings were conducted in absentia by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being the mastermind of multiple fatalities during the protests. The former leader rejected all charges, calling the trial as "biased and politically motivated".

The decision signifies a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over long-standing suppression. Families of those killed and injured had requested strict sentences.

Answering the judgment in a five-page statement, she expressed the capital punishment was the caretaker administration's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a governing body and that she was satisfied of her administration's performance on human rights.

"I do not fear to meet my challengers in a proper tribunal where the proof can be evaluated and tested fairly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under increased safeguards ahead of the decision on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina holding a protest and applauding as the verdict was read.

The capital witnessed a recent spike in turmoil, with multiple explosives detonated and public transport vehicles burned in the period preceding the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, regional security representative the police spokesperson informed news organizations.

The protest movement led by students in the previous year commenced through requests to remove government job quotas but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.

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

The report documented the gunfire from minimal distance of certain demonstrators, the deliberate maiming of additional individuals, arbitrary arrests and mistreatment.

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader verified by investigative sources in previous months suggested she had approved the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the proceedings.

Prior to the ruling, relatives of those killed during the protests stated to news agencies they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

A family representative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for the former leader and associates who have "committed acts of vengeance 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 kin of victims [in the protests] will find peace in their hearts."

Since Hasina's ousting, an temporary leadership headed by economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A general election is set for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the her former political organization, her political faction, was outlawed by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

Hasina warned last month that if the party's candidates were banned from standing in the upcoming election, millions would boycott the ballot.

This decision presents a foreign relations issue for both nations. The Bangladesh government has asked her repatriation but so far India has shown no willingness to agree.

The legal representative assigned to her Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "disappointed and hoping the decision had been otherwise".

"I am unable to challenge because my clients are absent; for that reason I am disappointed," he stated further.

Recently, the defense attorneys said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN highlighting major judicial fairness and due process issues at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial in conjunction with her former home minister and top law enforcement officer.

Although the punishment offers some closure to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may not significantly ease the state's ideological splits.

"The anger against Sheikh Hasina and the her political party has not subsided," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka told press agencies. "Both she and the organization has apologised or displayed repentance for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The activist stated "It makes it difficult for the faction to gain approval by a majority of people in this nation."

The advocate continued that the punishment was not finality for the kin of those killed and injured.

"We assist several people who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are currently without limbs, as a result of the harsh measures. They cannot pardon her."

David Bergman, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it increasingly challenging" for the political faction to become a regular participant of Bangladeshi politics again.

This may change if "a form of contrition emerges and a distancing from Hasina and the previous administration," he expressed.