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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been sentenced to death for human rights violations due to her crackdown on protests led by students which resulted in her forced departure.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of allowing lethal force to be used against demonstrators, among whom around 1,400 people lost their lives during the turmoil during 2024.

Hasina was tried in absentia by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being the mastermind of numerous deaths during the protests. Hasina has denied every accusation, calling the trial as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The verdict marks a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over years of repression. Families of those killed and wounded had requested strict sentences.

Responding to the decision in a detailed document, the former leader stated the death penalty was the interim government's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a political force and that she was content of her government's record on human rights.

"I do not fear to face my accusers in a proper tribunal where the evidence can be weighed and reviewed impartially."

The capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under increased safeguards ahead of the decision on Monday, with several of her detractors organizing a demonstration and applauding as the judgment was announced.

The capital witnessed a sudden increase in unrest, with numerous incendiary devices set off and public transport vehicles burned in the period preceding the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, local police official Jisanul Haque stated to press agencies.

The student-led uprising in the previous year started with requests to remove public sector reservation policies but morphed into a broader opposition campaign.

International human rights monitors declared in an analysis in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could represent "violations of human dignity".

The report documented the shooting at point-blank range of a number of activists, the purposeful disabling of further participants, arbitrary arrests and torture.

Disclosed sound files of a call made by the former leader authenticated by investigative sources earlier this year indicated she had authorized the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the legal process.

Ahead of the verdict, kin of those fatally injured in the unrest told press outlets they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

A family representative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for Hasina and others who have "performed revengeful deeds and abused their power".

Another relative, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "executed before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will obtain solace in their hearts."

Since Hasina's ousting, an caretaker administration headed by economist Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A national vote is set for February 2026.

However, the her former political organization, her political faction, was prohibited by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

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

This decision presents a foreign relations issue for the neighboring countries. Authorities have sought her return but until now India has shown no willingness to agree.

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

"I am unable to challenge because my clients are absent; for that reason I am sad," he stated further.

Last week, Hasina's lawyers said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN highlighting serious fair trial and judicial process problems at the ICT.

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

Even though the verdict provides certain resolution to families of killed in the protests, it may do little to soothe the country's political divisions.

"The fury directed at Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not subsided," a Dhaka-based rights activist told press agencies. "Both she and the organization has said sorry or demonstrated contrition for the fatalities of countless citizens."

She said "It makes it difficult for the party to be accepted by a bulk of the population in this state."

The campaigner further stated that the punishment was not closure for the relatives of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We work with numerous persons who suffered permanent amputations, they are amputees now, as a result of the harsh measures. They will never be able to forgive her."

A journalist, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it even more difficult" for the political faction to become a normal feature of the country's governance system again.

This may change if "there is some kind of apology and a disassociation with Sheikh Hasina and the previous administration," he said.