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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been sentenced to death for atrocities stemming from her severe measures on student-led protests which led to her removal from power.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of authorizing deadly measures to be used against protesters, 1,400 of whom were killed during the unrest last year.

Hasina was tried while she was absent by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being behind multiple fatalities during the protests. Hasina has denied all charges, calling the trial as "unfair and agenda-driven".

This judgment represents a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over extended periods of oppression. Families of those killed and harmed had requested tough penalties.

Reacting to the verdict in a five-page statement, the former leader stated the capital punishment was the caretaker administration's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a political force and that she was satisfied of her administration's performance on human rights.

"I have no trepidation to face my accusers in a fair court where the proof can be evaluated and examined justly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under increased safeguards before the verdict on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina organizing a demonstration and applauding as the sentence was declared.

The capital witnessed a sudden increase in unrest, with numerous incendiary devices set off and buses set on fire in the days leading up to the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, regional security representative the authorities' representative told news organizations.

The student-led uprising in the previous year began with requests to remove state employment quotas but evolved into a broader opposition campaign.

UN human rights investigators said in a report in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could constitute "crimes against humanity".

The report documented the firing at close quarters of certain demonstrators, the purposeful disabling of further participants, unjustified apprehensions and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of one of Hasina's phone calls verified by external reviews in previous months implied she had sanctioned the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the trial.

Before the decision, family members of those fatally injured in the unrest informed press outlets they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

One relative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for Hasina and others who have "performed revengeful deeds and misused their authority".

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

"Exclusively thereafter the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will find peace in their hearts."

Following her removal, an caretaker administration led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A national vote is set for February 2026.

However, the her former political organization, her political faction, was outlawed by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

The former leader cautioned in the previous month that if the party's candidates were barred from participating in the forthcoming vote, millions would boycott the vote.

The verdict now poses a foreign relations issue for the neighboring countries. The Bangladesh government has asked her return but to date India has shown no willingness to acquiesce.

Her officially designated attorney Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "unhappy and desiring the outcome had varied".

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

Recently, the defense attorneys said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN raising serious fair trial and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Hasina was tried together with her previous domestic affairs official and top law enforcement officer.

While the sentence offers some closure to families of killed in the protests, it may not significantly ease the state's ideological splits.

"The resentment towards the former leader and the Awami League has not diminished," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka informed press agencies. "The leader and her faction has apologised or shown any remorse for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The activist stated "This complicates matters for the faction to gain approval by a majority of people in this nation."

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

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

A journalist, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it increasingly challenging" for Awami League to become a normal feature of the country's governance system again.

This could alter if "a form of contrition emerges and a separation from Sheikh Hasina and the former hierarchy," he expressed.