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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been sentenced to death for human rights violations due to her harsh response on youth demonstrations which caused her removal from power.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of allowing lethal force to be used against protesters, among whom around 1,400 people died during the disturbances in the previous year.

Legal proceedings were conducted in absentia by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being the mastermind of multiple fatalities during the protests. Hasina has denied all charges, labeling the proceedings as "biased and politically motivated".

This judgment represents a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over long-standing suppression. Relatives of the deceased and wounded had called for severe punishments.

Responding to the decision in a detailed document, Hasina said the death penalty was the caretaker administration's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was satisfied of her government's record on civil liberties.

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

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under tightened security ahead of the verdict on Monday, with several of her detractors staging a rally and cheering as the verdict was read.

Dhaka experienced a sudden increase in turmoil, with dozens of bombs exploded and buses set on fire in the days leading up to the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, regional security representative Jisanul Haque told press agencies.

The youth-driven revolt in the previous year started with requests to remove public sector reservation policies but transformed into a broader opposition campaign.

International human rights monitors said in a report in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could amount to "violations of human dignity".

The report documented the shooting at point-blank range of certain demonstrators, the purposeful disabling of additional individuals, arbitrary arrests and torture.

Leaked audio of one of Hasina's phone calls confirmed by media examinations earlier this year implied she had sanctioned the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the trial.

Ahead of the verdict, family members of those fatally injured in the unrest told news agencies they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

Ramjan Ali, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for Hasina and others who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and exploited their positions".

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

"Exclusively thereafter the kin of victims [in the protests] will find peace in their hearts."

Since Hasina's ousting, an interim government under the guidance of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A parliamentary election is scheduled for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the Awami League, the former ruling party, was prohibited by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

She alerted in the previous month that if the her faction's nominees were banned from standing in the forthcoming vote, numerous would avoid the ballot.

The verdict now poses a international dilemma for India and Bangladesh. Authorities have sought her repatriation but to date India has shown no willingness to comply.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "unhappy and desiring the outcome had varied".

"I even cannot appeal because my defendants are not present; for that reason I am disappointed," he continued.

Last week, her legal team said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN highlighting significant due process and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Hasina was tried together with her previous domestic affairs official and top law enforcement officer.

While the sentence offers some closure to relatives of the deceased 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 media outlets. "Neither she nor the party has said sorry or displayed repentance for the deaths of numerous individuals."

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

The activist added that the penalty was not finality for the families of those killed and injured.

"We support numerous persons who suffered permanent amputations, they are now disabled, because of the suppression. They are incapable of excusing her."

David Bergman, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it particularly hard" for her party to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.

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