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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been sentenced to death for atrocities over her crackdown on youth demonstrations which caused her removal from power.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of allowing lethal force to be used against demonstrators, among whom around 1,400 people were killed during the disturbances in the previous year.

Hasina was tried without her presence by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being the mastermind of numerous deaths during the protests. Hasina has denied the entire case, calling the trial as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

This judgment represents a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over long-standing suppression. Families of those killed and harmed had called for tough penalties.

Reacting to the verdict in a comprehensive declaration, the former leader stated the death penalty was the interim government's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a political force and that she was proud of her administration's performance on civil liberties.

"I do not fear to meet my challengers in a just legal forum where the proof can be evaluated and reviewed impartially."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under increased safeguards ahead of the verdict on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina organizing a demonstration and applauding as the verdict was read.

The city has seen a notable rise in unrest, with dozens of bombs exploded and buses set on fire in the days leading up to the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, local police official the authorities' representative stated to press agencies.

The student-led uprising in the previous year started with requests to remove state employment quotas but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.

UN human rights investigators declared in an analysis in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could represent "human rights atrocities".

The study recorded the firing at close quarters of some protesters, the purposeful disabling of others, unwarranted detentions and mistreatment.

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader authenticated by investigative sources in previous months implied she had authorized the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the legal process.

Ahead of the verdict, kin of those who died in the demonstrations informed media representatives they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

Ramjan Ali, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for her and co-accused who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and exploited their positions".

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

"Only then the families of those killed [in the protests] will obtain solace in their souls."

Following her removal, an temporary leadership headed by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A parliamentary election is set for February 2026.

However, the her former political organization, Hasina's political party, was prohibited by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

She alerted during the past month that if the her faction's nominees were banned from standing in the forthcoming vote, countless would abstain the ballot.

The verdict now poses a foreign relations issue for the neighboring countries. Dhaka has formally requested her repatriation but until now India has expressed no readiness to agree.

The legal representative assigned to her Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "sad [and wishes] the outcome had varied".

"I cannot even contest because my represented individuals are away; that's why I am disappointed," he continued.

Last week, Hasina's lawyers said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN highlighting major judicial fairness and judicial process problems at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial alongside her former home minister and top law enforcement officer.

Although the punishment offers some closure to families of killed in the protests, it may do little to soothe the country's political divisions.

"The anger against Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League has not subsided," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka stated to media outlets. "The leader and her faction has said sorry or shown any remorse for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The advocate declared "This complicates matters for the party to be accepted by a most citizens in this state."

The campaigner further stated that the punishment was not resolution for the families of those killed and injured.

"We support numerous persons who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are currently without limbs, as a result of the harsh measures. They will never be able to forgive her."

An analyst, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it particularly hard" for her party to become a standard element of the country's governance system again.

This might transform if "there is some kind of apology and a distancing from Hasina and the previous administration," he expressed.