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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been given a death sentence for atrocities stemming from her severe measures on youth demonstrations which caused her ousting.

Hasina was declared culpable of authorizing deadly measures to be used against demonstrators, among whom around 1,400 people were killed during the disturbances during 2024.

The trial proceeded without her presence by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being behind numerous deaths during the protests. She has refuted every accusation, calling the trial as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The decision signifies a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over long-standing suppression. Next of kin of victims and injured had demanded severe punishments.

Responding to the decision in a comprehensive declaration, Hasina said the death penalty was the interim government's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was proud of her administration's performance on human rights.

"I have no trepidation to meet my challengers in a proper tribunal where the evidence can be weighed and examined justly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under increased safeguards ahead of the verdict on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics holding a protest and celebrating as the judgment was announced.

Dhaka experienced a notable rise in turmoil, with numerous incendiary devices set off and coaches ignited in the period preceding the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, local police official Jisanul Haque stated to media outlets.

The protest movement led by students during 2024 started with requests to remove public sector reservation policies but evolved into a wider anti-government movement.

United Nations rights examiners declared in an analysis in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could amount to "crimes against humanity".

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

Unauthorized recordings of one of Hasina's phone calls confirmed by media examinations during the current year suggested she had authorized the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the legal process.

Before the decision, kin of those fatally injured in the unrest told media representatives they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

Ramjan Ali, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for Hasina and others who have "performed revengeful deeds and abused their power".

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 relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will achieve closure in their souls."

Since Hasina's ousting, an caretaker administration led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A general election is scheduled for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the Awami League, the former ruling party, was prohibited by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

She alerted during the past month that if the her faction's nominees were banned from standing in the imminent electoral process, countless would abstain the ballot.

The judgment creates a international dilemma for both nations. The Bangladesh government has asked her return but so far India has demonstrated no inclination to comply.

Her officially designated attorney the defense lawyer said he was "sad [and wishes] the outcome had varied".

"I am unable to challenge because my clients are absent; that's why I am disheartened," he added.

The previous week, Hasina's lawyers said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN raising major judicial fairness and due process issues at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial alongside her former home minister and police chief.

Although the punishment provides certain resolution to families of killed in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the state's ideological splits.

"The fury directed at Sheikh Hasina and the her political party has not decreased," a Dhaka-based rights activist informed news organizations. "Neither she nor the party has said sorry or demonstrated contrition for the killings of hundreds of people."

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

The activist added that the sentence was not closure for the relatives of those who died and were wounded.

"We assist multiple individuals who lost their limbs forever, they are currently without limbs, due to the crackdown. They will never be able to forgive her."

A journalist, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it even more difficult" for her party to become a regular participant of Bangladeshi politics again.

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