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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been given a death sentence for atrocities over her severe measures on youth demonstrations which led to her ousting.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of permitting fatal actions to be used against activists, 1,400 of whom were killed during the disturbances last year.

The trial proceeded while she was absent by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being behind numerous deaths during the protests. The former leader rejected all charges, labeling the proceedings as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The decision signifies a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over years of repression. Relatives of the deceased and injured had called for severe punishments.

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 electoral entity and that she was content of her administration's performance on human rights.

"I do not fear to face my accusers in a just legal forum where the evidence can be weighed and tested fairly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under increased safeguards ahead of the ruling on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina holding a protest and applauding as the judgment was announced.

The capital witnessed a notable rise in unrest, with multiple explosives detonated and buses set on fire in the days leading up to the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, local police official the police spokesperson stated to media outlets.

The protest movement led by students during 2024 commenced through calls to eliminate government job quotas but transformed into a wider anti-government movement.

United Nations rights examiners said in a report in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could represent "violations of human dignity".

The report documented the shooting at point-blank range of certain demonstrators, the deliberate maiming of additional individuals, unwarranted detentions and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of a telephone conversation involving Hasina confirmed by investigative sources earlier this year suggested she had sanctioned the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the trial.

Before the decision, family members of those fatally injured in the unrest told news agencies they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

One relative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for her and co-accused who have "performed revengeful deeds and exploited their positions".

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

"Exclusively thereafter the kin of victims [in the protests] will find peace in their hearts."

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

Nonetheless, the Hasina's political party, Hasina's political party, was outlawed 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 forthcoming vote, millions would boycott the ballot.

This decision presents a international dilemma for both nations. Authorities have sought her extradition but until now India has demonstrated no inclination to acquiesce.

Her officially designated attorney her legal counsel 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 disheartened," he continued.

The previous week, Hasina's lawyers said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN highlighting major judicial fairness and due process issues at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial alongside her former home minister and top law enforcement officer.

Although the punishment provides certain resolution to kin of victims in the protests, it may do little to soothe the state's ideological splits.

"The anger against Hasina and the Awami League has not diminished," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka informed press agencies. "The leader and her faction has apologised or displayed repentance for the killings of hundreds of people."

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

The advocate continued that the sentence was not closure for the families of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We support numerous persons who suffered permanent amputations, they are amputees now, due to the crackdown. They will never be able to forgive her."

An analyst, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it even more difficult" for the political faction to become a standard element of the nation's political landscape again.

This could alter if "an expression of regret occurs and a distancing from Hasina and the former hierarchy," he stated.