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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been given a death sentence for atrocities stemming from her severe measures on youth demonstrations which led to her forced departure.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of allowing lethal force to be used against activists, 1,400 of whom were killed during the unrest last year.

Legal proceedings were conducted while she was absent by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being the mastermind of hundreds of killings during the protests. The former leader rejected every accusation, labeling the proceedings as "biased and politically motivated".

The verdict marks a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over years of repression. Relatives of the deceased and wounded had demanded tough penalties.

Answering the judgment in a comprehensive declaration, she expressed the death penalty was the temporary leadership's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a political force and that she was content of her administration's performance on individual freedoms.

"I am not afraid to face my accusers in a fair court where the evidence can be weighed and examined justly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under increased safeguards ahead of the decision on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina staging a rally and cheering as the verdict was read.

The capital witnessed a sudden increase in turmoil, with multiple explosives detonated and buses set on fire in the time before the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, area law enforcement officer the police spokesperson informed news organizations.

The youth-driven revolt during 2024 started with requests to remove government job quotas but transformed into a wider anti-government movement.

International human rights monitors stated in a document in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could represent "violations of human dignity".

The paper detailed the gunfire from minimal distance of certain demonstrators, the deliberate maiming of others, unwarranted detentions and abuse.

Unauthorized recordings of one of Hasina's phone calls authenticated by investigative sources earlier this year indicated she had approved the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the legal process.

Prior to the ruling, family members of those killed during the protests told press outlets they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

A family representative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for Hasina and others who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and abused their power".

Another relative, whose partner was fatally injured 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 led by economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A parliamentary election is set for February 2026.

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

Hasina warned last month that if the the League's representatives were barred from participating in the imminent electoral process, numerous would avoid the ballot.

The judgment creates a international dilemma for India and Bangladesh. Authorities have sought her extradition but to date India has shown no willingness to acquiesce.

Her officially designated attorney the defense lawyer said he was "sad [and wishes] the decision had been otherwise".

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

Recently, Hasina's lawyers said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN raising serious fair trial and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial together with her former home minister and police chief.

Even though the verdict grants partial finality to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the country's political divisions.

"The fury directed at Sheikh Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not decreased," a Dhaka-based rights activist informed media outlets. "The leader and her faction has said sorry or demonstrated contrition for the killings of hundreds of people."

The advocate declared "It makes it difficult for the faction to gain approval by a bulk of the population in this nation."

The activist added that the punishment was not closure for the families of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We support multiple individuals who lost their limbs forever, they are currently without limbs, because of the suppression. They are incapable of excusing her."

An analyst, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it increasingly challenging" for the political faction to become a regular participant of the nation's political landscape again.

This might transform if "a form of contrition emerges and a distancing from the former leader and the previous administration," he stated.