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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been given a death sentence for human rights violations due to her crackdown on student-led protests which led to her removal from power.

Hasina was declared culpable of authorizing deadly measures to be used against protesters, among whom around 1,400 people were killed during the unrest last year.

The trial proceeded in absentia by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being responsible for multiple fatalities during the protests. The former leader rejected the entire case, calling the trial as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The verdict marks a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over long-standing suppression. Relatives of the deceased and wounded had demanded tough penalties.

Reacting to the verdict in a five-page statement, she expressed the death penalty was the caretaker administration's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a governing body and that she was proud of her administration's performance on civil liberties.

"I have no trepidation to meet my challengers in a proper tribunal where the proof can be evaluated and tested fairly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under enhanced protection ahead of the ruling on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina organizing a demonstration and cheering as the judgment was announced.

The capital witnessed a notable rise in unrest, with dozens of bombs exploded and coaches ignited in the time before the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, local police official Jisanul Haque stated to press agencies.

The youth-driven revolt last year began with requests to remove state employment quotas but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.

UN human rights investigators declared in an analysis in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could amount to "human rights atrocities".

The study recorded the gunfire from minimal distance of a number of activists, the deliberate maiming of others, unjustified apprehensions and torture.

Disclosed sound files of a call made by the former leader verified by media examinations in previous months implied she had sanctioned the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the trial.

Prior to the ruling, kin of those fatally injured in the unrest informed press outlets they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

Ramjan Ali, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for her and co-accused who have "engaged in retaliatory actions 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 "executed before the election".

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

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

Nevertheless, the Awami League, the former ruling party, was outlawed by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

She alerted last month that if the the League's representatives were banned from standing in the upcoming election, countless would abstain the vote.

The verdict now poses a international dilemma for the neighboring countries. Dhaka has formally requested her repatriation but until now India has expressed no readiness to comply.

The legal representative assigned to her her legal counsel said he was "sad [and wishes] the outcome had varied".

"I cannot even contest because my defendants are not present; which is why I am disheartened," he stated further.

The previous week, the defense attorneys said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN pointing out major judicial fairness and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Hasina was tried together with her former home minister and security forces head.

Even though the verdict grants partial finality to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may do little to soothe the nation's partisan rifts.

"The anger against the former leader and the the former ruling faction has not diminished," a Dhaka-based rights activist stated to news organizations. "The leader and her faction has apologised or demonstrated contrition for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The advocate declared "This complicates matters for the organization to receive endorsement by a majority of people in this state."

The activist added that the sentence was not finality for the relatives of those killed and injured.

"We work with several people who lost their limbs forever, they are now disabled, as a result of the harsh measures. They are incapable of excusing her."

David Bergman, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a standard element of Bangladeshi politics again.

This could alter if "a form of contrition emerges and a separation from Sheikh Hasina and the old leadership," he stated.