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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been sentenced to death for atrocities due to her harsh response on student-led protests which resulted in her removal from power.

Hasina was declared culpable of permitting fatal actions to be used against demonstrators, 1,400 of whom lost their lives during the disturbances during 2024.

The trial proceeded in absentia by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being the mastermind of multiple fatalities during the protests. Hasina has denied the entire case, describing the process as "biased and politically motivated".

The verdict marks a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over long-standing suppression. Next of kin of victims and harmed had called for strict sentences.

Responding to the decision in a five-page statement, she expressed the capital punishment was the caretaker administration's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a governing body and that she was satisfied of her administration's performance on human rights.

"I am not afraid to confront those accusing me in a just legal forum where the evidence can be weighed and examined justly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under tightened security prior to the verdict on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics organizing a demonstration and applauding as the sentence was declared.

Dhaka experienced a notable rise in turmoil, with multiple explosives detonated and buses set on fire in the time before the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, local police official the police spokesperson told news organizations.

The protest movement led by students last year started with calls to eliminate state employment quotas but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.

United Nations rights examiners declared in an analysis in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could amount to "violations of human dignity".

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

Disclosed sound files of a telephone conversation involving Hasina verified by investigative sources earlier this year suggested she had approved the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the proceedings.

Before the decision, family members of those fatally injured in the unrest told news agencies they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

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".

A different family member, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "executed before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the kin of victims [in the protests] will obtain solace in their minds."

After her departure, an interim government under the guidance of economist Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A national vote is planned for February 2026.

Nonetheless, 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 verdict now poses a diplomatic challenge for the neighboring countries. The Bangladesh government has asked her extradition but so far India has shown no willingness to agree.

The legal representative assigned to her her legal counsel said he was "disappointed and hoping the verdict had been different".

"I am unable to challenge because my defendants are not present; that's why I am disappointed," he continued.

Last week, Hasina's lawyers said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN pointing out major judicial fairness and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

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

Although the punishment provides certain resolution to families of killed in the protests, it may do little to soothe the country's political divisions.

"The anger against Hasina and the Awami League has not decreased," a Dhaka-based rights activist stated to news organizations. "Both she and the organization has said sorry or shown any remorse for the deaths of numerous individuals."

She said "This creates challenges for the party to be accepted by a bulk of the population in this state."

The activist added that the penalty was not resolution for the kin of those killed and injured.

"We support several people who suffered permanent amputations, they are amputees now, because of the suppression. They will never be able to forgive her."

A journalist, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it even more difficult" for the political faction to become a standard element of Bangladeshi politics again.

This may change if "a form of contrition emerges and a distancing from Sheikh Hasina and the former hierarchy," he stated.