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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been given a death sentence for atrocities over her harsh response on protests led by students which led to her ousting.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of allowing lethal force to be used against demonstrators, among whom around 1,400 people lost their lives during the turmoil last year.

Hasina was tried while she was absent by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being responsible for multiple fatalities during the protests. The former leader rejected every accusation, describing the process as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The decision signifies a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over years of repression. Families of those killed and injured had demanded severe punishments.

Answering the judgment in a detailed document, she expressed the execution sentence was the temporary leadership's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a political force and that she was satisfied of her administration's performance on human rights.

"I am not afraid to confront those accusing me in a proper tribunal where the proof can be evaluated and examined justly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under enhanced protection ahead of the ruling on Monday, with several of her detractors holding a protest and cheering as the judgment was announced.

The city has seen a recent spike in disturbances, with dozens of bombs exploded and buses set on fire in the time before the verdict.

One explosive incident was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, local police official Jisanul Haque informed press agencies.

The student-led uprising last year started with requests to remove government job quotas but transformed into a wider anti-government movement.

UN human rights investigators stated in a document in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could constitute "crimes against humanity".

The study recorded the shooting at point-blank range of a number of activists, the intentional injuring of further participants, unjustified apprehensions and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of one of Hasina's phone calls verified by media examinations in previous months implied she had authorized the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the trial.

Prior to the ruling, family members of those fatally injured in the unrest stated to media representatives they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

Ramjan Ali, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for Hasina and others who have "committed acts of vengeance and exploited their positions".

Lucky Akther, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "executed before the election".

"Only then the families of those killed [in the protests] will achieve closure in their minds."

Since Hasina's ousting, an temporary leadership under the guidance of economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A national vote is planned for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the Awami League, 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 banned from standing in the forthcoming vote, countless would abstain the ballot.

The judgment creates a diplomatic challenge for the neighboring countries. The Bangladesh government has asked her repatriation but until now India has expressed no readiness to comply.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer the defense lawyer said he was "unhappy and desiring the decision had been otherwise".

"I am unable to challenge because my clients are absent; that's why I am sad," he continued.

Last week, her legal team said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN raising serious fair trial and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina in conjunction with her previous domestic affairs official and security forces head.

Although the punishment provides certain resolution to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the state's ideological splits.

"The resentment towards Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not subsided," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka stated to press agencies. "The leader and her faction has expressed regret or shown any remorse for the deaths of numerous individuals."

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

The advocate continued that the punishment was not closure for the families of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We work with several people who lost their limbs forever, they are now disabled, because of the suppression. They are incapable of excusing her."

David Bergman, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it even more difficult" for her party to become a standard element of the nation's political landscape again.

This could alter if "an expression of regret occurs and a separation from the former leader and the former hierarchy," he stated.