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

Hasina was declared culpable of authorizing deadly measures to be used against demonstrators, among whom around 1,400 people died during the disturbances last year.

Legal proceedings were conducted while she was absent by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being responsible for numerous deaths during the protests. She has refuted every accusation, labeling the proceedings as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The verdict marks a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over years of repression. Relatives of the deceased and injured had called for strict sentences.

Responding to the decision in a comprehensive declaration, she expressed the death penalty was the caretaker administration's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was content of her leadership's history on human rights.

"I have no trepidation to face my accusers in a proper tribunal where the proof can be evaluated and tested fairly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under enhanced protection ahead of the decision on Monday, with several of her detractors staging a rally and applauding as the verdict was read.

Dhaka experienced a sudden increase in disturbances, with multiple explosives detonated and coaches ignited in the time before the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, area law enforcement officer Jisanul Haque informed news organizations.

The protest movement led by students during 2024 started with calls to eliminate government job quotas but morphed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

United Nations rights examiners said in a report in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could represent "crimes against humanity".

The paper detailed the shooting at point-blank range of a number of activists, the intentional injuring of further participants, arbitrary arrests and mistreatment.

Leaked audio of a call made by the former leader confirmed by media examinations earlier this year indicated she had authorized the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the proceedings.

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

One relative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for her and co-accused who have "performed revengeful deeds and exploited their positions".

Another relative, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "implemented before the election".

"Solely at that point the kin of victims [in the protests] will obtain solace in their hearts."

After her departure, an caretaker administration under the guidance of economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A general election is set for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the Awami League, Hasina's political party, was outlawed by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

The former leader cautioned last month that if the the League's representatives were barred from participating in the imminent electoral process, countless would abstain the election.

The judgment creates a foreign relations issue for the neighboring countries. Dhaka has formally requested her return but until now India has expressed no readiness to acquiesce.

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

"I even cannot appeal because my clients are absent; which is why I am disheartened," he continued.

The previous week, the defense attorneys said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN raising major judicial fairness and judicial process problems at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial together with her ex-interior minister and police chief.

Even though the verdict grants partial finality to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may not significantly ease the nation's partisan rifts.

"The fury directed at Sheikh Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not diminished," a Dhaka-based rights activist stated to press agencies. "Both she and the organization has said sorry or demonstrated contrition for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The advocate declared "This complicates matters for the party to be accepted by a bulk of the population in this country."

The campaigner further stated that the penalty was not closure for the families of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

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

David Bergman, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it even more difficult" for the political faction to become a standard element of the nation's political landscape again.

This might transform if "there is some kind of apology and a distancing from the former leader and the former hierarchy," he said.