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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been given a death sentence for human rights violations stemming from her harsh response on student-led protests which led to her removal from power.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of authorizing deadly measures to be used against protesters, among whom around 1,400 people died during the turmoil in the previous year.

The trial proceeded without her presence by the special international tribunal 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, describing the process as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The verdict marks a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over long-standing suppression. Next of kin of victims and injured had called for strict sentences.

Reacting to the verdict in a detailed document, Hasina said the capital punishment was the interim government's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a political force and that she was proud of her government's record on individual freedoms.

"I have no trepidation to confront those accusing me in a fair court where the evidence can be weighed and reviewed impartially."

The capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under increased safeguards ahead of the verdict on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina staging a rally and cheering as the sentence was declared.

Dhaka experienced a sudden increase in turmoil, with dozens of bombs exploded and buses set on fire in the period preceding the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, local police official Jisanul Haque stated to press agencies.

The student-led uprising in the previous year started with calls to eliminate state employment quotas but evolved into a wider anti-government movement.

United Nations rights examiners stated in a document in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could amount to "human rights atrocities".

The report documented the firing at close quarters of some protesters, the intentional injuring of additional individuals, unjustified apprehensions and torture.

Disclosed sound files of one of Hasina's phone calls verified by media examinations during the current year implied she had authorized the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the trial.

Before the decision, relatives of those killed during the protests informed news agencies they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

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

Another relative, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "carried out before the election".

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

Since Hasina's ousting, an temporary leadership under the guidance of economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A national vote is set for February 2026.

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

The former leader cautioned in the previous month that if the the League's representatives were prohibited from running in the imminent electoral process, numerous would avoid the election.

This decision presents a international dilemma for India and Bangladesh. The Bangladesh government has asked her extradition but until now India has expressed no readiness to comply.

The legal representative assigned to her the defense lawyer said he was "sad [and wishes] the verdict had been different".

"I even cannot appeal because my defendants are not present; for that reason I am disappointed," he added.

The previous week, her legal team said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN raising significant due process and due process issues at the ICT.

Hasina was tried in conjunction with her previous domestic affairs official and police chief.

Although the punishment offers some closure to kin of victims in the protests, it may do little to soothe the nation's partisan rifts.

"The anger against Sheikh Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not decreased," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka stated to press agencies. "Both she and the organization has said sorry or shown any remorse for the deaths of numerous individuals."

She said "This complicates matters for the faction to gain approval by a majority of people 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 now disabled, because of the suppression. They cannot pardon her."

David Bergman, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it increasingly challenging" for the political faction to become a regular participant of the nation's political landscape again.

This might transform if "a form of contrition emerges and a separation from the former leader and the previous administration," he stated.