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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been sentenced to death for atrocities stemming from her crackdown on protests led by students which resulted in her ousting.

Hasina was declared culpable of permitting fatal actions to be used against demonstrators, 1,400 of whom died during the unrest in the previous year.

The trial proceeded while she was absent by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being the mastermind of hundreds of killings during the protests. She has refuted every accusation, labeling the proceedings as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The verdict marks a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over extended periods of oppression. Next of kin of victims and injured had demanded tough penalties.

Responding to the decision in a detailed document, 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 individual freedoms.

"I do not fear to face my accusers in a proper tribunal where the facts can be assessed and tested fairly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under increased safeguards prior to the verdict on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics holding a protest and applauding as the sentence was declared.

Dhaka experienced a notable rise in disturbances, with multiple explosives detonated and buses set on fire in the period preceding the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, local police official the authorities' representative informed press agencies.

The student-led uprising in the previous year started with calls to eliminate government job quotas but transformed into a broader opposition campaign.

United Nations rights examiners stated in a document in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could represent "human rights atrocities".

The study recorded the gunfire from minimal distance of certain demonstrators, the purposeful disabling of further participants, unjustified apprehensions and mistreatment.

Leaked audio of one of Hasina's phone calls verified by investigative sources during the current year implied she had approved the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the proceedings.

Prior to the ruling, relatives of those who died in the demonstrations stated to press outlets they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

One relative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for the former leader and associates who have "performed revengeful deeds and exploited their positions".

Another relative, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "executed before the election".

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

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

However, the Hasina's political party, her political faction, was outlawed by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

Hasina warned during the past month that if the her faction's nominees were barred from participating in the forthcoming vote, millions would boycott the election.

The judgment creates a foreign relations issue for the neighboring countries. Authorities have sought her extradition but so far India has expressed no readiness to agree.

The legal representative assigned to her the defense lawyer said he was "sad [and wishes] the decision had been otherwise".

"I even cannot appeal because my clients are absent; for that reason I am disappointed," he continued.

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

Legal proceedings involved Hasina together with her former home minister and police chief.

While the sentence provides certain resolution to kin of victims in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the state's ideological splits.

"The fury directed at Hasina and the Awami League has not diminished," a Dhaka-based rights activist told news organizations. "Both she and the organization has said sorry or displayed repentance for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The activist stated "It makes it difficult for the party to be accepted by a most citizens in this state."

The campaigner further stated that the penalty was not finality for the families of those killed and injured.

"We support numerous persons who suffered permanent amputations, they are amputees now, because of the suppression. They will never be able to forgive her."

A journalist, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it increasingly challenging" for her party to become a normal feature of the nation's political landscape again.

This may change if "an expression of regret occurs and a disassociation with Sheikh Hasina and the old leadership," he stated.