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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been given a death sentence for human rights violations due to her harsh response on student-led protests which resulted in her removal from power.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of permitting fatal actions to be used against activists, among whom around 1,400 people were killed during the disturbances in the previous year.

Hasina was tried in absentia by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being the mastermind of numerous deaths during the protests. Hasina has denied every accusation, labeling the proceedings as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The decision signifies a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over extended periods of oppression. Families of those killed and harmed had demanded strict sentences.

Answering the judgment in a five-page statement, the former leader stated the execution sentence was the caretaker administration's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was content of her leadership's history on individual freedoms.

"I do not fear to confront those accusing me in a proper tribunal where the facts can be assessed and examined justly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under tightened security before the ruling on Monday, with several of her detractors staging a rally and applauding as the judgment was announced.

The capital witnessed a recent spike in turmoil, with numerous incendiary devices set off and buses set on fire in the days leading up to the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, local police official Jisanul Haque told press agencies.

The student-led uprising last year commenced through demands to abolish state employment quotas but morphed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

UN human rights investigators stated in a document in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could represent "violations of human dignity".

The study recorded the gunfire from minimal distance of certain demonstrators, the deliberate maiming of additional individuals, unjustified apprehensions and torture.

Disclosed sound files of a call made by the former leader authenticated by media examinations earlier this year indicated she had sanctioned the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the trial.

Before the decision, family members of those who died in the demonstrations told media representatives they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

One relative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for Hasina and others who have "performed revengeful deeds and abused their power".

A different family member, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "carried out before the election".

"Only then the kin of victims [in the protests] will find peace in their hearts."

Following her removal, an temporary leadership led by economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A parliamentary election is scheduled for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the Hasina's political party, Hasina's political party, was prohibited by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

The former leader cautioned last month that if the the League's representatives were banned from standing in the forthcoming vote, millions would boycott the vote.

This decision presents a foreign relations issue for both nations. The Bangladesh government has asked her return but so far India has demonstrated no inclination to comply.

Her officially designated attorney her legal counsel said he was "unhappy and desiring the outcome had varied".

"I even cannot appeal because my represented individuals are away; which is why I am sad," he stated further.

Recently, Hasina's lawyers said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN highlighting serious fair trial and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina in conjunction with her ex-interior minister and police chief.

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

"The fury directed at the former leader and the Awami League has not diminished," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka informed press agencies. "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 organization to receive endorsement by a majority of people in this nation."

The campaigner further stated that the penalty was not resolution for the kin of those who died and were wounded.

"We assist numerous persons who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are now disabled, as a result of the harsh measures. They will never be able to forgive her."

An analyst, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it even more difficult" for the political faction to become a normal feature of the country's governance system again.

This may change if "there is some kind of apology and a distancing from Hasina and the former hierarchy," he said.