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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been sentenced to death for human rights violations stemming from her severe measures on youth demonstrations which caused her ousting.

Hasina was declared culpable of authorizing deadly measures to be used against activists, 1,400 of whom lost their lives during the disturbances last year.

Legal proceedings were conducted without her presence by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being behind numerous deaths during the protests. Hasina has denied the entire case, describing the process as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The decision signifies a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over years of repression. Families of those killed and harmed had requested strict sentences.

Responding to the decision in a comprehensive declaration, the former leader stated the death penalty was the temporary leadership's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a political force and that she was satisfied of her leadership's history on individual freedoms.

"I am not afraid to face my accusers in a just legal forum where the proof can be evaluated and tested fairly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under tightened security ahead of the ruling on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina staging a rally and cheering as the judgment was announced.

The capital witnessed a sudden increase in disturbances, with multiple explosives detonated and coaches ignited in the period preceding the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, local police official the authorities' representative stated to news organizations.

The protest movement led by students last year began with demands to abolish state employment quotas but transformed into a wider anti-government movement.

International human rights monitors said in a report in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could amount to "human rights atrocities".

The report documented the firing at close quarters of a number of activists, the deliberate maiming of further participants, unjustified apprehensions and abuse.

Disclosed sound files of a call made by the former leader verified by media examinations in previous months suggested she had authorized the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the trial.

Before the decision, kin of those killed during the protests told news agencies they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

A family representative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for the former leader and associates who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and abused their power".

Lucky Akther, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "carried out before the election".

"Solely at that point the kin of victims [in the protests] will find peace in their hearts."

After her departure, an temporary leadership led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A national vote is set for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the Awami League, Hasina's political party, was prohibited by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

Hasina warned during the past month that if the her faction's nominees were banned from standing in the upcoming election, countless would abstain the election.

The verdict now poses a diplomatic challenge for both nations. Dhaka has formally requested her return but so far India has expressed no readiness to comply.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer the defense lawyer said he was "unhappy and desiring the outcome had varied".

"I am unable to challenge because my clients are absent; which is why I am disappointed," he continued.

Last week, the defense attorneys said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN highlighting major judicial fairness and due process issues at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina together with her former home minister and security forces head.

Even though the verdict grants partial finality to kin of victims in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the nation's partisan rifts.

"The anger against the former leader and the her political party has not subsided," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka informed press agencies. "Both she and the organization has said sorry or demonstrated contrition for the killings of hundreds of people."

The activist stated "This creates challenges for the party to be accepted by a bulk of the population in this country."

The campaigner further stated that the penalty was not closure for the relatives of those killed and injured.

"We support several people who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are now disabled, due to the crackdown. They will never be able to forgive her."

David Bergman, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it even more difficult" for her party to become a standard element of the nation's political landscape again.

This might transform if "a form of contrition emerges and a disassociation with the former leader and the old leadership," he expressed.