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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been sentenced to death for human rights violations due to her harsh response on youth demonstrations which led to her forced departure.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of allowing lethal force to be used against protesters, among whom around 1,400 people died during the unrest last year.

The trial proceeded while she was absent by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being responsible for numerous deaths during the protests. Hasina has denied the entire case, calling the trial as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The decision signifies a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over long-standing suppression. Next of kin of victims and wounded had called for tough penalties.

Responding to the decision in a comprehensive declaration, she expressed the death penalty was the temporary leadership's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was satisfied of her government's record on civil liberties.

"I am not afraid to meet my challengers in a fair court where the evidence can be weighed and reviewed impartially."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under enhanced protection prior to the decision on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics organizing a demonstration and celebrating as the sentence was declared.

The capital witnessed a notable rise in turmoil, with numerous incendiary devices set off and buses set on fire in the time before the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, area law enforcement officer the police spokesperson informed media outlets.

The student-led uprising in the previous year started with requests to remove public sector reservation policies but morphed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

United Nations rights examiners declared in an analysis in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could represent "crimes against humanity".

The study recorded the gunfire from minimal distance of some protesters, the deliberate maiming of further participants, unjustified apprehensions and mistreatment.

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader authenticated by investigative sources earlier this year suggested she had approved the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the trial.

Before the decision, family members of those who died in the demonstrations stated to press outlets they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

Ramjan Ali, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for her and co-accused who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and abused their power".

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

"Only then the kin of victims [in the protests] will obtain solace in their minds."

After her departure, an caretaker administration under the guidance of economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A parliamentary election is scheduled for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the her former political organization, Hasina's political party, was banned by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

She alerted in the previous month that if the her faction's nominees were banned from standing in the imminent electoral process, millions would boycott the vote.

The verdict now poses a foreign relations issue for the neighboring countries. Dhaka has formally requested her repatriation but to date India has shown no willingness to acquiesce.

The legal representative assigned to her her legal counsel said he was "sad [and wishes] the verdict had been different".

"I even cannot appeal because my clients are absent; for that reason I am sad," he continued.

Recently, Hasina's lawyers said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN pointing out major judicial fairness and due process issues at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial alongside her previous domestic affairs official and police chief.

While the sentence offers some closure to families of killed in the protests, it may not significantly ease the country's political divisions.

"The anger against the former leader and the Awami League has not diminished," a human rights advocate from the capital stated to news organizations. "Both she and the organization has apologised or demonstrated contrition for the killings of hundreds of people."

She said "It makes it difficult for the faction to gain approval by a bulk of the population in this nation."

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

"We support multiple individuals who lost their limbs forever, they are now disabled, as a result of the harsh measures. They are incapable of excusing her."

David Bergman, 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 normal feature of the nation's political landscape again.

This could alter if "there is some kind of apology and a distancing from Hasina and the previous administration," he stated.