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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been given a death sentence for human rights violations stemming from her harsh response on youth demonstrations which resulted in her ousting.

Hasina was declared culpable of allowing lethal force to be used against activists, among whom around 1,400 people lost their lives during the turmoil in the previous year.

Legal proceedings were conducted in absentia by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being responsible for numerous deaths during the protests. The former leader rejected every accusation, labeling the proceedings as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The decision signifies a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over long-standing suppression. Next of kin of victims and harmed had demanded severe punishments.

Answering the judgment in a five-page statement, the former leader stated the death penalty was the temporary leadership's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a political force and that she was content of her leadership's history on civil liberties.

"I am not afraid to face my accusers in a fair court where the evidence can be weighed and reviewed impartially."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under enhanced protection ahead of the decision on Monday, with several of her detractors holding a protest and cheering as the judgment was announced.

The city has seen a sudden increase in unrest, 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 casualties reported, area law enforcement officer the police spokesperson informed media outlets.

The protest movement led by students last year started with demands to abolish state employment 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 represent "crimes against humanity".

The paper detailed the gunfire from minimal distance of certain demonstrators, the purposeful disabling of further participants, arbitrary arrests and abuse.

Leaked audio of a telephone conversation involving Hasina verified by media examinations during the current year suggested she had sanctioned the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the proceedings.

Before the decision, kin of those who died in the demonstrations informed press outlets they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

One relative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for her and co-accused who have "committed acts of vengeance and abused their power".

A different family member, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "carried out before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the families of those killed [in the protests] will achieve closure in their hearts."

After her departure, an caretaker administration headed by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A general election is set for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the Hasina's political party, the former ruling party, was banned by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

She alerted last month that if the party's candidates were prohibited from running in the imminent electoral process, millions would boycott the vote.

This decision presents a foreign relations issue for the neighboring countries. Authorities have sought her return but to date India has expressed no readiness to acquiesce.

Her officially designated attorney her legal counsel said he was "sad [and wishes] the verdict had been different".

"I even cannot appeal because my clients are absent; that's why I am disheartened," he stated further.

The previous week, the defense attorneys said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN raising major judicial fairness and due process issues at the ICT.

Hasina was tried alongside her former home minister and police chief.

While the sentence offers some closure to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may not significantly ease the country's political divisions.

"The resentment towards 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 deaths of numerous individuals."

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

The activist added that the sentence was not finality for the families of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We support several people who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are currently without limbs, because of the suppression. They will never be able to forgive her."

David Bergman, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it increasingly challenging" for her party to become a normal feature of the nation's political landscape again.

This may change if "a form of contrition emerges and a separation from Hasina and the old leadership," he said.