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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been sentenced to death for human rights violations stemming from her harsh response on student-led protests which led to her forced departure.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of permitting fatal actions to be used against activists, 1,400 of whom lost their lives during the disturbances during 2024.

Legal proceedings were conducted in absentia by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

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

This judgment represents a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over years of repression. Relatives of the deceased and injured had demanded tough penalties.

Answering the judgment 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 content of her leadership's history on individual freedoms.

"I do not fear to confront those accusing me in a just legal forum where the proof can be evaluated and tested fairly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under tightened security before the ruling on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina holding a protest and applauding as the verdict was read.

The capital witnessed a notable rise in disturbances, with numerous incendiary devices set off and coaches ignited in the time before the verdict.

One explosive incident was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, local police official Jisanul Haque stated to news organizations.

The youth-driven revolt last year commenced through demands to abolish state employment quotas but morphed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

UN human rights investigators declared in an analysis in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could amount to "crimes against humanity".

The report documented the shooting at point-blank range of certain demonstrators, the deliberate maiming of further participants, arbitrary arrests and abuse.

Disclosed sound files of one of Hasina's phone calls authenticated by media examinations in previous months suggested she had approved the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the legal process.

Ahead of the verdict, family members of those who died in the demonstrations informed media representatives they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

One relative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for her and co-accused who have "performed revengeful deeds and misused their authority".

A different family member, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "implemented before the election".

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

Following her removal, an caretaker administration led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A national vote is scheduled for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the Awami League, Hasina's political party, was prohibited by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

The former leader cautioned during the past month that if the the League's representatives were barred from participating in the upcoming election, countless would abstain the election.

The judgment creates a foreign relations issue for the neighboring countries. Dhaka has formally requested her extradition but so far India has demonstrated no inclination to acquiesce.

Her officially designated attorney her legal counsel said he was "disappointed and hoping the decision had been otherwise".

"I even cannot appeal because my clients are absent; that's why I am disheartened," he added.

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

Hasina was tried alongside her previous domestic affairs official and top law enforcement officer.

While the sentence provides certain resolution to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may do little to soothe the state's ideological splits.

"The fury directed at the former leader and the her political party has not subsided," a human rights advocate from the capital told press agencies. "Neither she nor the party has expressed regret or displayed repentance for the killings of hundreds of people."

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

The advocate continued that the punishment was not resolution for the families of those killed and injured.

"We work with multiple individuals who lost their limbs forever, they are currently without limbs, as a result of the harsh measures. They cannot pardon her."

David Bergman, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it particularly hard" for her party to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.

This might transform if "an expression of regret occurs and a disassociation with Hasina and the previous administration," he said.