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The country's previous leader has been given a death sentence for crimes against humanity over her severe measures on student-led protests which resulted in her removal from power.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of permitting fatal actions to be used against demonstrators, among whom around 1,400 people died during the disturbances in the previous year.

Hasina was tried in absentia by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being responsible for multiple fatalities during the protests. Hasina has denied all charges, describing the process as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

This judgment represents a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over extended periods of oppression. Families of those killed and wounded had requested tough penalties.

Responding to the decision in a comprehensive declaration, Hasina said the capital punishment was the interim government's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a political force and that she was satisfied of her government's record on civil liberties.

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

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under increased safeguards ahead of the decision on Monday, with several of her detractors organizing a demonstration and cheering as the sentence was declared.

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

At least one bomb explosion was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, local police official Jisanul Haque stated to press agencies.

The student-led uprising last year began with calls to eliminate government job quotas but transformed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

International human rights monitors stated in a document in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could constitute "human rights atrocities".

The study recorded the gunfire from minimal distance of some protesters, the purposeful disabling of further participants, unwarranted detentions and mistreatment.

Unauthorized recordings of a telephone conversation involving Hasina authenticated by media examinations in previous months implied she had sanctioned the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the legal process.

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

A family representative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" 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 the former leader's punishment to be "executed before the election".

"Solely at that point the families of those killed [in the protests] will achieve closure in their hearts."

Since Hasina's ousting, an caretaker administration led by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A national vote is planned for February 2026.

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

The former leader cautioned last month that if the the League's representatives were barred from participating in the upcoming election, countless would abstain the election.

The judgment creates a diplomatic challenge for both nations. Dhaka has formally requested her return but to date India has expressed no readiness to agree.

The legal representative assigned to her her legal counsel said he was "unhappy and desiring the verdict had been different".

"I even cannot appeal because my defendants are not present; that's why I am disheartened," he continued.

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

Hasina was tried alongside her former home minister and security forces head.

Even though the verdict offers some closure to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may do little to soothe the state's ideological splits.

"The anger against Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not decreased," a Dhaka-based rights activist told media outlets. "Neither she nor the party has expressed regret or displayed repentance for the killings of hundreds of people."

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

The advocate continued that the sentence was not resolution for the relatives of those who died and were wounded.

"We support numerous persons who suffered permanent amputations, they are amputees now, as a result of the harsh measures. They will never be able to forgive her."

An analyst, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it increasingly challenging" for the political faction to become a regular participant of the country's governance system again.

This could alter if "there is some kind of apology and a distancing from the former leader and the old leadership," he expressed.