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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been sentenced to death for human rights violations over her harsh response on youth demonstrations which caused her forced departure.

Hasina was declared culpable of allowing lethal force to be used against demonstrators, with approximately 1,400 individuals lost their lives during the unrest during 2024.

Hasina was tried without her presence by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being behind numerous deaths during the protests. The former leader rejected the entire case, labeling the proceedings as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The verdict marks a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over long-standing suppression. Families of those killed and wounded had called for strict sentences.

Responding to the decision in a five-page statement, she expressed the execution sentence was the caretaker administration's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a electoral entity and that she was satisfied of her administration's performance on individual freedoms.

"I do not fear to meet my challengers in a fair court where the evidence can be weighed and reviewed impartially."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under increased safeguards prior to the decision on Monday, with several of her detractors holding a protest and cheering as the sentence was declared.

The city has seen a sudden increase in disturbances, with numerous incendiary devices set off and buses set on fire in the time before the verdict.

One explosive incident was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, local police official the authorities' representative told news organizations.

The protest movement led by students during 2024 commenced through demands to abolish public sector reservation policies but evolved into a broader opposition campaign.

International human rights monitors declared in an analysis in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could constitute "human rights atrocities".

The study recorded the shooting at point-blank range of some protesters, the purposeful disabling of additional individuals, unwarranted detentions and mistreatment.

Unauthorized recordings of one of Hasina's phone calls authenticated by media examinations during the current year indicated she had approved the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the trial.

Prior to the ruling, relatives of those killed during the protests told press outlets they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

A family representative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for Hasina and others who have "committed acts of vengeance and exploited their positions".

Another relative, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "implemented before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the families of those killed [in the protests] will achieve closure in their souls."

After her departure, an interim government led by economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A national vote is scheduled for February 2026.

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

Hasina warned last month that if the the League's representatives were barred from participating in the upcoming election, numerous would avoid the ballot.

The verdict now poses a diplomatic challenge for the neighboring countries. Authorities have sought her repatriation but to date India has demonstrated no inclination to agree.

Her officially designated attorney her legal counsel said he was "sad [and wishes] the decision had been otherwise".

"I even cannot appeal because my clients are absent; which is why I am sad," he continued.

The previous week, the defense attorneys said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN highlighting major judicial fairness and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Hasina was tried in conjunction with her ex-interior minister and top law enforcement officer.

While the sentence offers some closure to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may not significantly ease the state's ideological splits.

"The resentment towards the former leader and the the former ruling faction has not diminished," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka told news organizations. "Both she and the organization has said sorry or displayed repentance for the deaths of numerous individuals."

She said "This creates challenges for the faction to gain approval by a most citizens in this country."

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

"We work with numerous persons who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are amputees now, because of the suppression. 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 Awami League to become a normal feature of the country's governance system again.

This might transform if "a form of contrition emerges and a distancing from the former leader and the previous administration," he stated.