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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been sentenced to death for atrocities due to her crackdown 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 were killed during the unrest last year.

Hasina was tried without her presence by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being the mastermind of hundreds of killings during the protests. Hasina has denied all charges, labeling the proceedings as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

This judgment represents a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over extended periods of oppression. Next of kin of victims and wounded had demanded tough penalties.

Reacting to the verdict in a five-page statement, Hasina said the death penalty was the caretaker administration's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a political force and that she was satisfied of her leadership's history on human rights.

"I am not afraid to meet my challengers in a just legal forum where the facts can be assessed and tested fairly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under tightened security prior to the verdict on Monday, with several of her detractors staging a rally and cheering as the judgment was announced.

Dhaka experienced a notable rise in unrest, with numerous incendiary devices set off and public transport vehicles burned in the period preceding the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, local police official the authorities' representative informed media outlets.

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

UN human rights investigators said in a report in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could represent "crimes against humanity".

The report documented the gunfire from minimal distance of a number of activists, the purposeful disabling of additional individuals, arbitrary arrests and mistreatment.

Unauthorized recordings of a telephone conversation involving Hasina verified by media examinations during the current year suggested she had authorized the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the trial.

Ahead of the verdict, family members of those killed during the protests stated to news agencies they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

Ramjan Ali, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for her and co-accused who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and misused their authority".

A different family member, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "implemented before the election".

"Solely at that point the kin of victims [in the protests] will achieve closure in their souls."

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

However, the her former political organization, the former ruling party, was prohibited by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

She alerted in the previous month that if the party's candidates were prohibited from running in the imminent electoral process, numerous would avoid the vote.

The verdict now poses a diplomatic challenge for both nations. Dhaka has formally requested her return but until now India has demonstrated no inclination to acquiesce.

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

"I even cannot appeal because my represented individuals are away; that's why I am disheartened," he added.

Recently, the defense attorneys said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN highlighting major judicial fairness and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina in conjunction with her former home minister and security forces head.

Although the punishment grants partial finality to kin of victims in the protests, it may not significantly ease the nation's partisan rifts.

"The anger against Sheikh Hasina and the her political party has not subsided," a Dhaka-based rights activist told news organizations. "The leader and her faction has apologised or shown any remorse for the killings of hundreds of people."

She said "This complicates matters for the organization to receive endorsement by a bulk of the population in this state."

The activist added that the penalty was not resolution for the kin of those killed and injured.

"We work with several people who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are currently without limbs, as a result of the harsh measures. They cannot pardon 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 Awami League to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.

This might transform if "a form of contrition emerges and a distancing from the former leader and the previous administration," he said.