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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been given a death sentence for atrocities stemming from her harsh response on youth demonstrations which resulted in her removal from power.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of authorizing deadly measures to be used against activists, 1,400 of whom lost their lives during the unrest in the previous year.

The trial proceeded while she was absent by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being responsible for multiple fatalities during the protests. She has refuted all charges, labeling the proceedings as "unfair and agenda-driven".

This judgment represents a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over long-standing suppression. Next of kin of victims and injured had called for tough penalties.

Answering the judgment in a five-page statement, Hasina said the capital punishment was the interim government's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a political force and that she was proud of her administration's performance on individual freedoms.

"I am not afraid to meet my challengers in a proper tribunal where the evidence can be weighed and examined justly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under tightened security prior to the ruling on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina organizing a demonstration and celebrating as the judgment was announced.

The city has seen a sudden increase in turmoil, with numerous incendiary devices set off and public transport vehicles burned in the period preceding the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, area law enforcement officer Jisanul Haque informed press agencies.

The youth-driven revolt in the previous year began with calls to eliminate state employment quotas but evolved into a more extensive dissent initiative.

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

The report documented the firing at close quarters of some protesters, the purposeful disabling of additional individuals, arbitrary arrests and mistreatment.

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader authenticated by investigative sources during the current year suggested she had sanctioned the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the trial.

Before the decision, relatives of those killed during the protests told press outlets they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

A family representative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for her and co-accused 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 "carried out before the election".

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

Following her removal, an interim government headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A parliamentary election is planned for February 2026.

However, the Awami League, her political faction, was outlawed by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

Hasina warned in the previous 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. Authorities have sought her return but to date India has shown no willingness to comply.

Her officially designated attorney the defense lawyer said he was "disappointed and hoping the verdict had been different".

"I even cannot appeal because my defendants are not present; that's why I am sad," he added.

Recently, her legal team said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN highlighting major judicial fairness and due process issues at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina together with her ex-interior minister and security forces head.

Even though the verdict offers some closure 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 Awami League has not decreased," a human rights advocate from the capital informed press agencies. "The leader and her faction has said sorry or demonstrated contrition for the fatalities of countless citizens."

She said "This complicates matters for the organization to receive endorsement by a most citizens in this nation."

The activist added that the sentence was not finality for the kin of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We work with numerous persons who lost their limbs forever, they are amputees now, due to the crackdown. They cannot pardon her."

A journalist, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it particularly hard" for Awami League to become a standard element of Bangladeshi politics again.

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