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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been sentenced to death for human rights violations over her crackdown on protests led by students which caused her removal from power.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of authorizing deadly measures to be used against protesters, 1,400 of whom were killed during the turmoil last year.

Hasina was tried without her presence by the International Crimes Court 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 numerous deaths during the protests. She has refuted every accusation, describing the process as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The verdict marks a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over years of repression. Relatives of the deceased and harmed had requested strict sentences.

Responding to the decision in a comprehensive declaration, the former leader stated the capital punishment was the interim government's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a electoral entity and that she was content of her government's record on individual freedoms.

"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 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.

The city has seen a sudden increase in unrest, with multiple explosives detonated and public transport vehicles burned in the days leading up to the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, local police official Jisanul Haque stated to news organizations.

The youth-driven revolt last year started with requests to remove state employment quotas but morphed into a broader opposition campaign.

United Nations rights examiners said in a report in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could amount to "crimes against humanity".

The report documented the gunfire from minimal distance of certain demonstrators, the deliberate maiming of additional individuals, unjustified apprehensions and abuse.

Leaked audio of one of Hasina's phone calls authenticated by external reviews earlier this year suggested she had authorized the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the legal process.

Prior to the ruling, family members of those fatally injured in the unrest told news agencies they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

One relative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for her and co-accused who have "performed revengeful deeds and misused their authority".

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

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

Since Hasina's ousting, an interim government under the guidance of economist Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A general election is scheduled for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the Awami League, her political faction, was banned by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

She alerted last month that if the the League's representatives were banned from standing in the imminent electoral process, millions would boycott the ballot.

The judgment creates a foreign relations issue for India and Bangladesh. Authorities have sought her return but so far India has shown no willingness to comply.

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

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

Recently, the defense attorneys said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN raising serious fair trial and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina in conjunction with her previous domestic affairs official and police chief.

While the sentence provides certain resolution to kin of victims in the protests, it may not significantly ease the state's ideological splits.

"The fury directed at the former leader and the Awami League has not decreased," a human rights advocate from the capital informed news organizations. "The leader and her faction has expressed regret or demonstrated contrition for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The activist stated "This complicates matters for the party to be accepted by a most citizens in this state."

The activist added that the sentence was not closure for the kin of those who died and were wounded.

"We support several people who lost their limbs forever, they are amputees now, due to the crackdown. They cannot pardon her."

David Bergman, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it increasingly challenging" for her party to become a standard element of the country's governance system again.

This may change if "a form of contrition emerges and a distancing from the former leader and the previous administration," he stated.