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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been given a death sentence for atrocities due to her severe measures on student-led protests which caused her ousting.

Hasina was declared culpable of authorizing deadly measures to be used against demonstrators, 1,400 of whom were killed during the unrest last year.

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

Legal authorities charged her of being the mastermind of numerous deaths during the protests. Hasina has denied all charges, labeling the proceedings as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The decision signifies a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over extended periods of oppression. Next of kin of victims and harmed had demanded strict sentences.

Reacting to the verdict in a detailed document, she expressed the execution sentence was the caretaker administration's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was proud of her leadership's history on human rights.

"I do not fear to confront those accusing me in a proper tribunal where the proof can be evaluated and reviewed impartially."

The capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under tightened security before the decision on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics organizing a demonstration and cheering as the judgment was announced.

The capital witnessed a sudden increase in unrest, 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, regional security representative the authorities' representative informed news organizations.

The protest movement led by students last year began with calls to eliminate government job quotas but transformed into a wider anti-government movement.

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

The study recorded the gunfire from minimal distance of certain demonstrators, the purposeful disabling of further participants, arbitrary arrests and mistreatment.

Unauthorized recordings of one of Hasina's phone calls verified by media examinations earlier this year indicated she had approved the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the legal process.

Before the decision, relatives of those killed during the protests stated to press outlets they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

Ramjan Ali, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for Hasina and others who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and misused their authority".

A different family member, 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 relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will obtain solace in their souls."

Following her removal, an caretaker administration headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A general election is set for February 2026.

However, the her former political organization, Hasina's political party, was banned by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

Hasina warned in the previous month that if the her faction's nominees were barred from participating in the forthcoming vote, countless would abstain the vote.

This decision presents a international dilemma for both nations. The Bangladesh government has asked her extradition but until now India has demonstrated no inclination to agree.

The legal representative assigned to her Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "sad [and wishes] the decision had been otherwise".

"I even cannot appeal because my clients are absent; for that reason I am disheartened," he stated further.

Recently, her legal team said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN highlighting major judicial fairness and due process issues at the ICT.

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

Although the punishment offers some closure to families of killed in the protests, it may not significantly ease the country's political divisions.

"The resentment towards Hasina and the her political party has not decreased," a human rights advocate from the capital told news organizations. "Neither she nor the party has said sorry or displayed repentance for the killings of hundreds of people."

The activist stated "This complicates matters for the faction to gain approval by a majority of people in this state."

The campaigner further stated that the sentence was not resolution for the relatives of those killed and injured.

"We work with numerous persons who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are amputees now, because of the suppression. They will never be able to forgive her."

David Bergman, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it particularly hard" for Awami League to become a standard element of the country's governance system again.

This could alter if "an expression of regret occurs and a disassociation with the former leader and the old leadership," he expressed.