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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been sentenced to death for atrocities due to her severe measures on protests led by students which caused her ousting.

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

Hasina was tried without her presence by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being the mastermind of hundreds of killings during the protests. She has refuted the entire case, describing the process as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The verdict marks a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over extended periods of oppression. Next of kin of victims and injured had requested tough penalties.

Answering the judgment in a comprehensive declaration, she expressed the execution sentence was the interim government's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a political force and that she was content of her administration's performance on civil liberties.

"I have no trepidation to face my accusers in a proper tribunal where the proof can be evaluated and examined justly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under enhanced protection prior to the ruling on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics organizing a demonstration and celebrating as the sentence was declared.

The capital witnessed a recent spike in unrest, with numerous incendiary devices set off and buses set on fire in the period preceding the verdict.

One explosive incident was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, local police official the authorities' representative stated to press agencies.

The protest movement led by students in the previous year began with demands to abolish state employment quotas but morphed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

UN human rights investigators said in a report in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could represent "human rights atrocities".

The paper detailed the firing at close quarters of certain demonstrators, the purposeful disabling of further participants, arbitrary arrests and torture.

Leaked audio of a call made by the former leader confirmed by external reviews during the current year indicated she had approved the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the proceedings.

Before the decision, kin of those killed during the protests informed news agencies they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

A family representative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for the former leader and associates who have "performed revengeful deeds 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 "executed before the election".

"Only then the families of those killed [in the protests] will achieve closure in their hearts."

After her departure, an interim government headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A parliamentary election is planned for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the Hasina's political party, her political faction, was prohibited by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

The former leader cautioned last month that if the party's candidates were banned from standing in the imminent electoral process, millions would boycott the ballot.

The verdict now poses a international dilemma for both nations. The Bangladesh government has asked her extradition but so far India has shown no willingness to comply.

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

"I cannot even contest because my defendants are not present; for that reason I am sad," he added.

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

The former leader faced trial in conjunction with her ex-interior minister and security forces head.

Although the punishment provides certain resolution to kin of victims in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the country's political divisions.

"The resentment towards Sheikh Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not subsided," a human rights advocate from the capital stated to media outlets. "Neither she nor the party has apologised or displayed repentance for the fatalities of countless citizens."

She said "This creates challenges for the faction to gain approval by a majority of people in this state."

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

"We assist several people who lost their limbs forever, they are amputees now, because of the suppression. They are incapable of excusing her."

David Bergman, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it increasingly challenging" for Awami League to become a normal feature of the nation's political landscape again.

This may change if "an expression of regret occurs and a distancing from Hasina and the old leadership," he stated.