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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been sentenced to death for atrocities over her harsh response on protests led by students which caused her forced departure.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of permitting fatal actions to be used against protesters, among whom around 1,400 people lost their lives during the disturbances last year.

Legal proceedings were conducted in absentia by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being the mastermind of hundreds of killings during the protests. The former leader rejected all charges, describing the process as "biased and politically motivated".

The decision signifies a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over extended periods of oppression. Next of kin of victims and harmed had demanded severe punishments.

Answering the judgment in a comprehensive declaration, Hasina said the execution sentence was the caretaker administration's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a electoral entity and that she was content of her leadership's history on human rights.

"I do not fear to face my accusers in a fair court where the evidence can be weighed and tested fairly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under increased safeguards prior to the decision on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics staging a rally and celebrating as the sentence was declared.

Dhaka experienced a sudden increase in disturbances, with numerous incendiary devices set off and public transport vehicles burned in the days leading up to the verdict.

One explosive incident was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, area law enforcement officer the authorities' representative stated to news organizations.

The student-led uprising during 2024 commenced through requests to remove government job quotas but transformed into a broader opposition campaign.

International human rights monitors declared in an analysis in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could constitute "human rights atrocities".

The study recorded the firing at close quarters of some protesters, the purposeful disabling of additional individuals, unjustified apprehensions and abuse.

Disclosed sound files of a call made by the former leader authenticated by media examinations in previous months suggested she had sanctioned the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the proceedings.

Prior to the ruling, relatives of those fatally injured in the unrest told media representatives they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

One relative, whose family member was fatally wounded 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 husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "carried out before the election".

"Only then the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will obtain solace in their minds."

Following her removal, an temporary leadership led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A national vote is set for February 2026.

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

She alerted last month that if the the League's representatives were prohibited from running in the upcoming election, numerous would avoid the ballot.

The judgment creates a foreign relations issue for India and Bangladesh. Dhaka has formally requested her repatriation but to date India has expressed no readiness to agree.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer 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 disheartened," he stated further.

Recently, her legal team said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN raising major judicial fairness and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

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

While the sentence offers some closure to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may not significantly ease the nation's partisan rifts.

"The anger against Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not subsided," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka stated to news organizations. "Neither she nor the party has said sorry or demonstrated contrition for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The advocate declared "This creates challenges for the faction to gain approval by a majority of people in this country."

The activist added that the punishment was not closure for the families of those killed and injured.

"We support several people who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are now disabled, as a result of the harsh measures. They cannot pardon her."

A journalist, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a standard element of the nation's political landscape again.

This could alter if "an expression of regret occurs and a disassociation with the former leader and the former hierarchy," he said.