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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been sentenced to death for atrocities due to her crackdown on protests led by students which caused her removal from power.

Hasina was declared culpable of allowing lethal force to be used against protesters, 1,400 of whom lost their lives during the disturbances during 2024.

The trial proceeded in absentia by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being responsible for multiple fatalities during the protests. She has refuted the entire case, describing the process as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The verdict marks a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over extended periods of oppression. Families of those killed and wounded had called for strict sentences.

Reacting to the verdict in a five-page statement, she expressed the capital punishment was the caretaker administration's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was content of her administration's performance on individual freedoms.

"I am not afraid to confront those accusing me in a fair court where the proof can be evaluated and tested fairly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under enhanced protection before the decision on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina organizing a demonstration and celebrating as the sentence was declared.

Dhaka experienced a sudden increase in turmoil, with multiple explosives detonated and buses set on fire in the days leading up to the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, local police official the authorities' representative stated to press agencies.

The protest movement led by students in the previous year began with requests to remove government job quotas but morphed into a broader opposition campaign.

UN human rights investigators declared in an analysis in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could represent "violations of human dignity".

The paper detailed the shooting at point-blank range of certain demonstrators, the intentional injuring of additional individuals, unwarranted detentions and abuse.

Disclosed sound files of a telephone conversation involving Hasina authenticated by external reviews during the current year indicated she had sanctioned the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the trial.

Prior to the ruling, family members of those fatally injured in the unrest told news agencies they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

One relative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for Hasina and others who have "committed acts of vengeance and abused their power".

Lucky Akther, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "implemented before the election".

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

Following her removal, an interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A national vote is planned for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the Hasina's political party, the former ruling party, was prohibited by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

She alerted during the past month that if the her faction's nominees were banned from standing in the upcoming election, numerous would avoid the vote.

This decision presents a international dilemma for the neighboring countries. The Bangladesh government has asked her return but so far India has expressed no readiness to comply.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "unhappy and desiring the verdict had been different".

"I am unable to challenge because my clients are absent; which is why I am sad," he continued.

Last week, the defense attorneys said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN raising major judicial fairness and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Hasina was tried alongside her former home minister and security forces head.

Although the punishment grants partial finality to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may not significantly ease the state's ideological splits.

"The anger against Hasina and the her political party has not subsided," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka stated to news organizations. "Both she and the organization has said sorry or displayed repentance for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The activist stated "This complicates matters for the faction to gain approval by a bulk of the population in this country."

The activist added that the sentence was not closure for the relatives of those who died and were wounded.

"We support numerous persons who lost their limbs forever, they are amputees now, due to the crackdown. They cannot pardon her."

An analyst, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it increasingly challenging" for the political faction to become a standard element of the country's governance system again.

This could alter if "there is some kind of apology and a separation from Hasina and the previous administration," he said.