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

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of permitting fatal actions to be used against protesters, 1,400 of whom were killed during the disturbances during 2024.

The trial proceeded without her presence by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being responsible for numerous deaths during the protests. Hasina has denied every accusation, describing the process as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The verdict marks a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over years of repression. Next of kin of victims and wounded had demanded tough penalties.

Responding to the decision in a five-page statement, she expressed the execution sentence was the caretaker administration's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was content of her administration's performance on individual freedoms.

"I am not afraid to face my accusers in a proper tribunal where the evidence can be weighed and reviewed impartially."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under enhanced protection prior to the ruling on Monday, with several of her detractors holding a protest and celebrating as the verdict was read.

The capital witnessed a recent spike in disturbances, with dozens of bombs exploded and buses set on fire in the time before the verdict.

One explosive incident was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, regional security representative the police spokesperson told news organizations.

The protest movement led by students last year commenced through calls to eliminate government job quotas but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.

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

The study recorded the gunfire from minimal distance of certain demonstrators, the purposeful disabling of additional individuals, unjustified apprehensions and mistreatment.

Disclosed sound files of a telephone conversation involving Hasina confirmed by media examinations earlier this year implied she had sanctioned the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the trial.

Ahead of the verdict, kin of those fatally injured in the unrest informed news agencies they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

A family representative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for her and co-accused who have "committed acts of vengeance and misused their authority".

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

"Exclusively thereafter the kin of victims [in the protests] will achieve closure in their minds."

Since Hasina's ousting, an caretaker administration headed by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A general election is planned for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the her former political organization, Hasina's political party, was banned by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

Hasina warned during the past month that if the the League's representatives were barred from participating in the forthcoming vote, countless would abstain the election.

The judgment creates a diplomatic challenge for both nations. Authorities have sought her extradition but until now India has expressed no readiness to agree.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer her legal counsel said he was "unhappy and desiring the decision had been otherwise".

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

Recently, her legal team said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN pointing out significant due process and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina together with her former home minister and security forces head.

Even though the verdict offers some closure to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the nation's partisan rifts.

"The resentment towards Sheikh Hasina and the her political party has not decreased," a Dhaka-based rights activist told news organizations. "Neither she nor the party has said sorry or displayed repentance for the killings of hundreds of people."

She said "It makes it difficult for the faction to gain approval by a most citizens in this state."

The advocate continued that the punishment was not finality for the families of those who died and were wounded.

"We support several people who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are now disabled, due to the crackdown. They will never be able to forgive her."

A journalist, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a standard element of Bangladeshi politics again.

This might transform if "a form of contrition emerges and a disassociation with Hasina and the former hierarchy," he expressed.