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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been sentenced to death for atrocities due to her severe measures on youth demonstrations which resulted in her removal from power.

Hasina was declared culpable of permitting fatal actions to be used against protesters, among whom around 1,400 people died during the disturbances in the previous year.

Hasina was tried while she was absent 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 responsible for multiple fatalities during the protests. Hasina has denied every accusation, labeling the proceedings as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

This judgment represents a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over long-standing suppression. Next of kin of victims and wounded had requested strict sentences.

Reacting to the verdict in a detailed document, the former leader stated the death penalty was the interim government's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a political force and that she was satisfied of her leadership's history on individual freedoms.

"I am not afraid to meet my challengers in a proper tribunal where the evidence can be weighed and tested fairly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under increased safeguards before the ruling on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics holding a protest and celebrating as the verdict was read.

The capital witnessed a notable rise in disturbances, with dozens of bombs exploded 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, local police official Jisanul Haque told media outlets.

The student-led uprising in the previous year commenced through calls to eliminate state employment quotas but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.

International human rights monitors said in a report in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could amount to "human rights atrocities".

The report documented the shooting at point-blank range of a number of activists, the intentional injuring of further participants, unjustified apprehensions and abuse.

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader verified by investigative sources during the current year indicated she had approved the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the proceedings.

Prior to the ruling, family members of those killed during the protests told press outlets they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

One relative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for Hasina and others who have "committed acts of vengeance and abused their power".

Another relative, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "executed before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the families of those killed [in the protests] will find peace in their hearts."

Since Hasina's ousting, an temporary leadership headed by economist Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A national vote is planned for February 2026.

However, the Awami League, her political faction, was outlawed by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

She alerted during the past month that if the the League's representatives were prohibited from running in the upcoming election, millions would boycott the vote.

The judgment creates a diplomatic challenge for both nations. The Bangladesh government has asked her return but so far India has shown no willingness to agree.

Her officially designated attorney her legal counsel said he was "sad [and wishes] the decision had been otherwise".

"I cannot even contest because my clients are absent; which is why I am disheartened," he stated further.

Last week, her legal team said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN raising serious fair trial and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina together with her previous domestic affairs official and police chief.

Even though the verdict provides certain resolution to families of killed in the protests, it may not significantly ease the country's political divisions.

"The anger against the former leader and the her political party has not decreased," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka told press agencies. "The leader and her faction has apologised or demonstrated contrition for the fatalities of countless citizens."

She said "This complicates matters for the party to be accepted by a most citizens in this country."

The campaigner further stated that the punishment was not finality for the relatives of those who died and were wounded.

"We work with multiple individuals who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are amputees now, because of the suppression. They are incapable of excusing her."

An analyst, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a regular participant of Bangladeshi politics again.

This may change if "there is some kind of apology and a distancing from Hasina and the previous administration," he expressed.