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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been sentenced to death for human rights violations stemming from her severe measures on youth demonstrations which caused her ousting.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of authorizing deadly measures to be used against protesters, with approximately 1,400 individuals lost their lives during the unrest in the previous year.

Hasina was tried while she was absent by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being responsible for hundreds of killings during the protests. The former leader rejected the entire case, calling the trial as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The decision signifies a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over long-standing suppression. Families of those killed and injured had requested strict sentences.

Responding to the decision in a five-page statement, Hasina said the capital punishment was the temporary leadership's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a political force and that she was satisfied of her government's record on civil liberties.

"I am not afraid to face my accusers in a just legal forum where the proof can be evaluated and reviewed impartially."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under increased safeguards prior to the decision on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina staging a rally and cheering as the sentence was declared.

The capital witnessed a notable rise in disturbances, with multiple explosives detonated and public transport vehicles burned in the time before the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, regional security representative the authorities' representative stated to media outlets.

The youth-driven revolt in the previous year started with demands to abolish state employment quotas but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.

UN human rights investigators declared in an analysis in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could constitute "crimes against humanity".

The study recorded the gunfire from minimal distance of a number of activists, the intentional injuring of further participants, arbitrary arrests and torture.

Leaked audio of one of Hasina's phone calls verified by external reviews in previous months indicated she had sanctioned the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the trial.

Ahead of the verdict, kin of those who died in the demonstrations stated to press outlets they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

A family representative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for the former leader and associates who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and abused their power".

Lucky Akther, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "executed before the election".

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

After her departure, an caretaker administration under the guidance of economic expert Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A general election is scheduled for February 2026.

However, the Hasina's political party, the former ruling party, was banned by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

Hasina warned in the previous month that if the the League's representatives were banned from standing in the upcoming election, numerous would avoid the election.

The judgment creates a international dilemma for India and Bangladesh. Authorities have sought her extradition but so far India has demonstrated no inclination to agree.

Her officially designated attorney her legal counsel said he was "unhappy and desiring the outcome had varied".

"I even cannot appeal because my represented individuals are away; for that reason I am sad," he stated further.

Recently, the defense attorneys said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN highlighting serious fair trial and judicial process problems at the ICT.

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

Although the punishment offers some closure to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may not significantly ease the country's political divisions.

"The resentment towards Hasina and the her political party has not diminished," a Dhaka-based rights activist informed press agencies. "Neither she nor the party has expressed regret or shown any remorse for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The activist stated "It makes it difficult for the organization to receive endorsement by a most citizens in this state."

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

"We work with numerous persons who suffered permanent amputations, they are amputees now, as a result of the harsh measures. They cannot pardon her."

David Bergman, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it even more difficult" for her party to become a standard element of Bangladeshi politics again.

This could alter if "there is some kind of apology and a distancing from the former leader and the former hierarchy," he stated.