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

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of authorizing deadly measures to be used against demonstrators, with approximately 1,400 individuals lost their lives during the unrest last year.

Legal proceedings were conducted without her presence by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being behind hundreds of killings during the protests. She has refuted every accusation, calling the trial as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The decision signifies a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over long-standing suppression. Next of kin of victims and injured had requested strict sentences.

Responding to the decision in a five-page statement, she expressed the death penalty was the temporary leadership's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was proud of her government's record on civil liberties.

"I have no trepidation to face my accusers in a fair court where the proof can be evaluated and examined justly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under increased safeguards prior to the decision on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics organizing a demonstration and cheering as the sentence was declared.

The capital witnessed a recent spike in unrest, with dozens of bombs exploded and public transport vehicles burned in the time before the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, local police official the police spokesperson stated to press agencies.

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

UN human rights investigators said in a report in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could represent "crimes against humanity".

The report documented the firing at close quarters of certain demonstrators, the purposeful disabling of others, unwarranted detentions and abuse.

Unauthorized recordings of a telephone conversation involving Hasina authenticated by investigative sources earlier this year indicated she had authorized the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the proceedings.

Before the decision, family members of those who died in the demonstrations told news agencies they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

A family representative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for the former leader and associates who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and exploited their positions".

Another relative, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "executed before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the families of those killed [in the protests] will achieve closure in their hearts."

Since Hasina's ousting, an temporary leadership led by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A general election is planned for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the her former political organization, Hasina's political party, was banned by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

She alerted in the previous month that if the her faction's nominees were prohibited from running in the upcoming election, millions would boycott the election.

The verdict now poses a foreign relations issue for India and Bangladesh. The Bangladesh government has asked her extradition but until now India has shown no willingness to comply.

Her officially designated attorney Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "unhappy and desiring the verdict had been different".

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

Last week, Hasina's lawyers said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN pointing out major judicial fairness and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Hasina was tried together with her former home minister and top law enforcement officer.

While the sentence offers some closure to kin of victims in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the country's political divisions.

"The fury directed at Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League has not diminished," a human rights advocate from the capital stated to news organizations. "The leader and her faction has said sorry or shown any remorse for the deaths of numerous individuals."

She said "It makes it difficult for the faction to gain approval by a bulk of the population in this state."

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

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

A journalist, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it particularly hard" for Awami League to become a regular participant of Bangladeshi politics again.

This may change if "an expression of regret occurs and a distancing from Sheikh Hasina and the former hierarchy," he stated.