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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been sentenced to death for atrocities over her harsh response on student-led protests which caused her forced departure.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of allowing lethal force to be used against activists, among whom around 1,400 people were killed during the unrest during 2024.

Hasina was tried while she was absent by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being the mastermind of numerous deaths during the protests. She has refuted the entire case, calling the trial as "biased and politically motivated".

The decision signifies a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over years of repression. Next of kin of victims and injured had called for tough penalties.

Reacting to the verdict in a five-page statement, Hasina said the capital punishment was the temporary leadership's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a electoral entity and that she was proud of her administration's performance on civil liberties.

"I have no trepidation to confront those accusing me in a just legal forum where the proof can be evaluated and tested fairly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under increased safeguards ahead of the ruling on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics organizing a demonstration and celebrating as the verdict was read.

The capital witnessed a recent spike in disturbances, with dozens of bombs exploded and coaches ignited in the time before the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, local police official the police spokesperson stated to press agencies.

The protest movement led by students during 2024 began with calls to eliminate state employment quotas but transformed into a broader opposition campaign.

United Nations rights examiners stated in a document in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could represent "crimes against humanity".

The paper detailed the gunfire from minimal distance of a number of activists, the purposeful disabling of others, unwarranted detentions and torture.

Disclosed sound files of a telephone conversation involving Hasina authenticated by investigative sources in previous months indicated she had approved the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the trial.

Ahead of the verdict, relatives of those who died in the demonstrations informed press outlets they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

A family representative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for her and co-accused who have "performed revengeful deeds and exploited their positions".

Lucky Akther, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "implemented before the election".

"Solely at that point the families of those killed [in the protests] will find peace in their souls."

Since Hasina's ousting, an interim government under the guidance of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A parliamentary election is scheduled for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the her former political organization, the former ruling party, was banned by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

She alerted during the past month that if the party's candidates were banned from standing in the upcoming election, numerous would avoid the vote.

The judgment creates a foreign relations issue for both nations. Dhaka has formally requested her extradition but so far India has shown no willingness to agree.

Her officially designated attorney the defense lawyer said he was "sad [and wishes] the verdict had been different".

"I even cannot appeal because my defendants are not present; which is why I am disappointed," he added.

The previous week, her legal team said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN raising significant due process and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina alongside her ex-interior minister and top law enforcement officer.

Even though the verdict provides certain resolution to families of killed in the protests, it may not significantly ease the country's political divisions.

"The resentment towards the former leader and the her political party has not decreased," a Dhaka-based rights activist told news organizations. "Both she and the organization has apologised or shown any remorse for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The activist stated "This creates challenges for the faction to gain approval by a bulk of the population in this country."

The campaigner further stated that the sentence was not resolution for the families of those who died and were wounded.

"We work with numerous persons who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are now disabled, due to the crackdown. They are incapable of excusing her."

A journalist, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it increasingly challenging" for the political faction to become a standard element of the nation's political landscape again.

This may change if "an expression of regret occurs and a distancing from Hasina and the previous administration," he stated.