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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been sentenced to death for atrocities stemming from her crackdown on youth demonstrations which resulted in her ousting.

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

Hasina was tried while she was absent by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being behind multiple fatalities during the protests. The former leader rejected every accusation, calling the trial as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The verdict marks a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over long-standing suppression. Relatives of the deceased and harmed had called for tough penalties.

Answering the judgment in a detailed document, Hasina said 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 government's record on civil liberties.

"I am not afraid to meet my challengers in a just legal forum where the facts can be assessed and examined justly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under tightened security ahead of the ruling on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina staging a rally and celebrating as the judgment was announced.

The capital witnessed a notable rise in unrest, with multiple explosives detonated and buses set on fire in the time before the verdict.

One explosive incident was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, local police official the authorities' representative stated to press agencies.

The student-led uprising in the previous year commenced through calls to eliminate government job quotas but transformed into a broader opposition campaign.

International human rights monitors declared in an analysis in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could represent "crimes against humanity".

The report documented the gunfire from minimal distance of a number of activists, the purposeful disabling of additional individuals, unwarranted detentions and abuse.

Unauthorized recordings of a telephone conversation involving Hasina authenticated by external reviews earlier this year indicated she had approved the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the legal process.

Ahead of the verdict, kin of those killed during the protests stated to press outlets they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

One relative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for her and co-accused who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and misused their authority".

Another relative, whose husband was killed 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 hearts."

Since Hasina's ousting, an interim government under the guidance of economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A national vote is planned for February 2026.

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

The former leader cautioned last 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 international dilemma for India and Bangladesh. Dhaka has formally requested her return but so far India has shown no willingness to acquiesce.

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

"I cannot even contest because my clients are absent; for that reason I am sad," he added.

The previous week, the defense attorneys said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN highlighting significant due process and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina alongside her former home minister and top law enforcement officer.

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

"The anger against the former leader and the the former ruling faction has not subsided," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka informed news organizations. "The leader and her faction has said sorry or displayed repentance for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The activist stated "This complicates matters for the party to be accepted by a majority of people in this state."

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

"We work with numerous persons who suffered permanent amputations, they are currently without limbs, because of the suppression. They cannot pardon her."

An analyst, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a standard element of the nation's political landscape again.

This might transform if "an expression of regret occurs and a distancing from the former leader and the former hierarchy," he stated.