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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been sentenced to death for atrocities stemming from her harsh response on youth demonstrations which led to her ousting.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of allowing lethal force to be used against activists, among whom around 1,400 people lost their lives during the turmoil during 2024.

Hasina was tried in absentia by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being the mastermind of multiple fatalities during the protests. The former leader rejected every accusation, labeling the proceedings as "biased and politically motivated".

The verdict marks a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over years of repression. Relatives of the deceased and injured had demanded strict sentences.

Reacting to the verdict 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 proud of her leadership's history on civil liberties.

"I have no trepidation to meet my challengers in a just legal forum where the proof can be evaluated and examined justly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under increased safeguards ahead of the ruling on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina organizing a demonstration and cheering as the judgment was announced.

The capital witnessed a notable rise in unrest, with multiple explosives detonated and coaches ignited in the time before the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, local police official the authorities' representative informed press agencies.

The protest movement led by students in the previous year began with demands to abolish government job quotas but transformed into a wider anti-government movement.

International human rights monitors 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 some protesters, the deliberate maiming of others, unjustified apprehensions and torture.

Leaked audio of one of Hasina's phone calls authenticated by media examinations during the current year implied she had approved the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the proceedings.

Prior to the ruling, family members of those who died in the demonstrations told news agencies they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

A family representative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for her and co-accused who have "committed acts of vengeance and abused their power".

Another relative, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "implemented before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the families of those killed [in the protests] will find peace in their hearts."

After her departure, an temporary leadership headed by economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A national vote is planned for February 2026.

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

Hasina warned during the past month that if the the League's representatives were barred from participating in the upcoming election, countless would abstain the vote.

The verdict now poses a diplomatic challenge for India and Bangladesh. Dhaka has formally requested her extradition but until now India has shown no willingness to comply.

Her officially designated attorney Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "disappointed and hoping the verdict had been different".

"I cannot even contest because my represented individuals are away; for that reason I am disappointed," he stated further.

Recently, Hasina's lawyers said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN raising major judicial fairness and judicial process problems at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial in conjunction with her ex-interior minister and police chief.

Although the punishment offers some closure to kin of victims in the protests, it may not significantly ease the state's ideological splits.

"The resentment towards Hasina and the Awami League has not decreased," a human rights advocate from the capital stated to media outlets. "Both she and the organization has said sorry or displayed repentance for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The advocate declared "This complicates matters for the party to be accepted by a bulk of the population in this nation."

The advocate continued that the punishment was not resolution for the relatives of those killed and injured.

"We support multiple individuals who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are currently without limbs, due to the crackdown. They will never be able to forgive her."

An analyst, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it particularly hard" for her party to become a standard element of the country's governance system again.

This could alter if "a form of contrition emerges and a disassociation with the former leader and the former hierarchy," he expressed.