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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been given a death sentence for atrocities over her harsh response on student-led protests which caused her ousting.

Hasina was declared culpable of permitting fatal actions to be used against protesters, among whom around 1,400 people died during the unrest in the previous year.

Legal proceedings were conducted while she was absent by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being the mastermind of multiple fatalities during the protests. Hasina has denied all charges, calling the trial as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The decision signifies a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over extended periods of oppression. Next of kin of victims and injured had demanded severe punishments.

Answering the judgment in a comprehensive declaration, she expressed the capital punishment was the caretaker administration's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a political force and that she was content of her administration's performance on civil liberties.

"I do not fear to confront those accusing me in a fair court where the proof can be evaluated and examined justly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under tightened security before the decision on Monday, with several of her detractors staging a rally and applauding as the judgment was announced.

The city has seen a sudden increase in unrest, with numerous incendiary devices set off 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, area law enforcement officer the police spokesperson told press agencies.

The student-led uprising during 2024 started with requests to remove state employment quotas but transformed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

International human rights monitors stated in a document in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could constitute "crimes against humanity".

The paper detailed the gunfire from minimal distance of a number of activists, the intentional injuring of others, unwarranted detentions and mistreatment.

Leaked audio of a telephone conversation involving Hasina authenticated by media examinations during the current year indicated she had sanctioned the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the trial.

Before the decision, relatives of those fatally injured in the unrest stated to 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 Hasina and others who have "committed acts of vengeance and abused their power".

Another relative, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "implemented before the election".

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

Following her removal, an temporary leadership headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A general election is set for February 2026.

However, the her former political organization, Hasina's political party, was banned by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

She alerted in the previous month that if the party's candidates were banned from standing in the forthcoming vote, numerous would avoid the ballot.

The judgment creates a foreign relations issue for both nations. The Bangladesh government has asked her extradition but until now India has shown no willingness to agree.

The legal representative assigned to her Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "disappointed and hoping the verdict had been different".

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

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

The former leader faced trial alongside her previous domestic affairs official and top law enforcement officer.

Even though the verdict grants partial finality to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may do little to soothe the nation's partisan rifts.

"The anger against Hasina and the Awami League has not diminished," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka informed media outlets. "The leader and her faction has expressed regret or demonstrated contrition for the deaths of numerous individuals."

She said "This creates challenges for the faction to gain approval by a most citizens in this nation."

The campaigner further stated that the sentence was not resolution for the relatives of those who died and were wounded.

"We support multiple individuals who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are amputees now, because of the suppression. 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 even more difficult" for the political faction to become a standard element of the country's governance system again.

This might transform if "an expression of regret occurs and a disassociation with Hasina and the previous administration," he expressed.