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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been given a death sentence for human rights violations stemming from her harsh response on student-led protests which caused her forced departure.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of authorizing deadly measures to be used against protesters, 1,400 of whom died during the unrest during 2024.

Legal proceedings were conducted while she was absent by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being the mastermind of numerous deaths during the protests. Hasina has denied the entire case, labeling the proceedings as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The decision signifies a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over extended periods of oppression. Next of kin of victims and harmed had called for strict sentences.

Responding to the decision in a detailed document, Hasina said the execution sentence was the caretaker administration's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a political force and that she was content of her government's record on individual freedoms.

"I am not afraid to face my accusers in a proper tribunal where the facts can be assessed and reviewed impartially."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under tightened security ahead of the verdict on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina staging a rally and applauding as the judgment was announced.

The capital witnessed a sudden increase in turmoil, with multiple explosives detonated and buses set on fire in the period preceding the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, local police official the authorities' representative informed news organizations.

The protest movement led by students in the previous year commenced through calls to eliminate public sector reservation policies but morphed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

United Nations rights examiners declared in an analysis in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could amount to "violations of human dignity".

The paper detailed the firing at close quarters of a number of activists, the intentional injuring of additional individuals, unjustified apprehensions and mistreatment.

Unauthorized recordings of a telephone conversation involving Hasina authenticated by external reviews during the current year implied she had approved the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the legal process.

Prior to the ruling, relatives of those killed during the protests stated to press outlets they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

One relative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for her and co-accused who have "committed acts of vengeance and misused their authority".

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

"Only then the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will obtain solace in their hearts."

Following her removal, an caretaker administration under the guidance of economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A general election is planned for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the her former political organization, her political faction, was prohibited by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

The former leader cautioned in the previous month that if the party's candidates were barred from participating in the upcoming election, millions would boycott the vote.

The judgment creates a international dilemma for both nations. Dhaka has formally requested her return but until now India has shown no willingness to comply.

Her officially designated attorney her legal counsel said he was "unhappy and desiring the verdict had been different".

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

The previous week, her legal team said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN raising major judicial fairness and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina in conjunction with her ex-interior minister and security forces head.

Although the punishment offers some closure to families of killed in the protests, it may do little to soothe the country's political divisions.

"The fury directed at Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League has not subsided," a Dhaka-based rights activist informed news organizations. "Neither she nor the party has apologised or demonstrated contrition for the killings of hundreds of people."

She said "This creates challenges for the party to be accepted by a most citizens in this country."

The advocate continued that the sentence was not resolution for the kin of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We work with numerous persons who lost their limbs forever, they are currently without limbs, due to the crackdown. They cannot pardon her."

David Bergman, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it even more difficult" for the political faction to become a regular participant of the country's governance system again.

This could alter if "an expression of regret occurs and a distancing from the former leader and the previous administration," he expressed.