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The country's previous leader has been given a death sentence for atrocities due to her severe measures on protests led by students which resulted in her removal from power.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of permitting fatal actions to be used against protesters, with approximately 1,400 individuals lost their lives during the unrest in the previous year.

Legal proceedings were conducted in absentia by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being behind numerous deaths during the protests. She has refuted every accusation, describing the process as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The verdict marks a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over extended periods of oppression. Relatives of the deceased and harmed had requested tough penalties.

Answering the judgment in a five-page statement, the former leader stated the death penalty was the interim government's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a political force and that she was content of her leadership's history on civil liberties.

"I do not fear to confront those accusing me in a just legal forum where the evidence can be weighed and tested fairly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under enhanced protection before the verdict on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics staging a rally and celebrating as the sentence was declared.

Dhaka experienced a notable rise in disturbances, with multiple explosives detonated and public transport vehicles burned in the time before the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, regional security representative Jisanul Haque informed news organizations.

The youth-driven revolt in the previous year started with demands to abolish government job quotas but evolved into a broader opposition campaign.

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

The report documented the firing at close quarters of certain demonstrators, the deliberate maiming of additional individuals, unwarranted detentions and torture.

Disclosed sound files of a telephone conversation involving Hasina verified by media examinations during the current year indicated she had authorized the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the proceedings.

Before the decision, relatives of those killed during the protests stated to press outlets they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

A family representative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for Hasina and others who have "performed revengeful deeds and exploited their positions".

Lucky Akther, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "executed before the election".

"Only then the families of those killed [in the protests] will achieve closure in their minds."

Since Hasina's ousting, an caretaker administration headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A national vote is set for February 2026.

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

Hasina warned in the previous month that if the the League's representatives were barred from participating in the upcoming election, numerous would avoid the election.

The judgment creates a foreign relations issue for India and Bangladesh. The Bangladesh government has asked her repatriation but to date India has expressed no readiness to comply.

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

"I am unable to challenge because my clients are absent; for that reason I am sad," he stated further.

Recently, her legal team said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN raising significant due process and due process issues at the ICT.

Hasina was tried alongside her former home minister and top law enforcement officer.

Even though the verdict provides certain resolution to kin of victims in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the state's ideological splits.

"The anger against Hasina and the her political party has not diminished," a Dhaka-based rights activist informed news organizations. "The leader and her faction has expressed regret or displayed repentance for the killings of hundreds of people."

The advocate declared "This complicates matters for the organization to receive endorsement by a most citizens in this state."

The activist added that the punishment was not closure for the kin of those who died and were wounded.

"We assist numerous persons who suffered permanent amputations, they are amputees now, due to the crackdown. They will never be able to forgive her."

An analyst, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it even more difficult" for the political faction to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.

This could alter if "a form of contrition emerges and a distancing from the former leader and the former hierarchy," he said.