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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been given a death sentence for human rights violations over her harsh response on student-led protests which led to her ousting.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of allowing lethal force to be used against demonstrators, 1,400 of whom were killed during the turmoil during 2024.

Hasina was tried while she was absent by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being responsible for hundreds of killings during the protests. She has refuted all charges, labeling the proceedings as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

This judgment represents a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over years of repression. Relatives of the deceased and injured had called for severe punishments.

Responding to the decision in a comprehensive declaration, she expressed the execution sentence was the interim government's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was proud of her leadership's history on human rights.

"I do not fear to face my accusers in a proper tribunal where the evidence can be weighed and examined justly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under enhanced protection before the decision on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics organizing a demonstration and cheering as the sentence was declared.

Dhaka experienced a recent spike in turmoil, with multiple explosives detonated and buses set on fire in the period preceding the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, area law enforcement officer the authorities' representative told press agencies.

The protest movement led by students in the previous year started with demands to abolish state employment quotas but evolved into a more extensive dissent initiative.

International human rights monitors declared in an analysis in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could constitute "human rights atrocities".

The report documented the firing at close quarters of some protesters, the deliberate maiming of others, unjustified apprehensions and mistreatment.

Disclosed sound files of a call made by the former leader confirmed by media examinations in previous months suggested she had sanctioned the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the proceedings.

Before the decision, family members of those who died in the demonstrations stated to press outlets they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

One relative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for Hasina and others who have "committed acts of vengeance and exploited their positions".

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

"Solely at that point the families of those killed [in the protests] will find peace in their souls."

Since Hasina's ousting, an interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A parliamentary election is scheduled for February 2026.

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

Hasina warned during the past month that if the the League's representatives were barred from participating in the forthcoming vote, millions would boycott the vote.

The verdict now poses a foreign relations issue for India and Bangladesh. Authorities have sought her repatriation but until now India has expressed no readiness to acquiesce.

The legal representative assigned to her her legal counsel said he was "disappointed and hoping the outcome had varied".

"I cannot even contest because my represented individuals are away; for that reason I am disheartened," he continued.

Last week, Hasina's lawyers said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN highlighting major judicial fairness and due process issues at the ICT.

Hasina was tried together with her ex-interior minister and top law enforcement officer.

Although the punishment offers some closure to families of killed in the protests, it may not significantly ease the state's ideological splits.

"The fury directed at the former leader and the the former ruling faction has not diminished," a human rights advocate from the capital stated to press agencies. "Neither she nor the party has expressed regret or demonstrated contrition for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The advocate declared "This complicates matters for the organization to receive endorsement by a most citizens in this country."

The advocate continued that the sentence was not finality for the families of those killed and injured.

"We support numerous persons who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are currently without limbs, as a result of the harsh measures. They cannot pardon her."

A journalist, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it even more difficult" for Awami League to become a normal feature of the country's governance system again.

This may change if "a form of contrition emerges and a disassociation with Sheikh Hasina and the previous administration," he stated.