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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been sentenced to death for crimes against humanity stemming from her harsh response on student-led protests which resulted in her ousting.

Hasina was declared culpable of permitting fatal actions to be used against activists, with approximately 1,400 individuals lost their lives during the turmoil last year.

Hasina was tried in absentia by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being responsible for hundreds of killings during the protests. The former leader rejected every accusation, calling the trial as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The verdict marks a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over extended periods of oppression. Relatives of the deceased and wounded had demanded strict sentences.

Responding to the decision in a detailed document, she expressed the death penalty was the caretaker administration's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was proud of her government's record on human rights.

"I do not fear to meet my challengers in a just legal forum where the proof can be evaluated and tested fairly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under tightened security ahead of the ruling on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics holding a protest and applauding as the verdict was read.

Dhaka experienced a notable rise in disturbances, 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 victims identified, area law enforcement officer the authorities' representative informed press agencies.

The protest movement led by students during 2024 started with demands to abolish government job quotas but transformed into a wider anti-government movement.

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

The study recorded the gunfire from minimal distance of a number of activists, the deliberate maiming of others, unjustified apprehensions and mistreatment.

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader verified by investigative sources in previous months indicated she had approved the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the trial.

Ahead of the verdict, relatives of those fatally injured in the unrest stated to press outlets they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

Ramjan Ali, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for her and co-accused who have "performed revengeful deeds and exploited their positions".

A different family member, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "executed before the election".

"Solely at that point the families of those killed [in the protests] will obtain solace in their minds."

After her departure, an temporary leadership led by economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A general election is scheduled for February 2026.

However, the Awami League, her political faction, was outlawed by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

She alerted in the previous month that if the her faction's nominees were prohibited from running in the imminent electoral process, millions would boycott the ballot.

The verdict now poses a foreign relations issue for India and Bangladesh. The Bangladesh government has asked her repatriation but so far India has expressed no readiness to agree.

Her officially designated attorney Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "disappointed and hoping the verdict had been different".

"I am unable to challenge because my clients are absent; which is why I am sad," he continued.

The previous week, the defense attorneys said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN highlighting serious fair trial and due process issues at the ICT.

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

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

"The resentment towards Hasina and the Awami League has not decreased," a human rights advocate from the capital told press agencies. "Neither she nor the party has apologised or displayed repentance for the killings of hundreds of people."

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

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

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

An analyst, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it particularly hard" for her party to become a normal feature of the country's governance system again.

This may change if "an expression of regret occurs and a disassociation with Hasina and the former hierarchy," he said.