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The country's previous leader has been sentenced to death for human rights violations over her severe measures on student-led protests which caused her removal from power.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of allowing lethal force to be used against demonstrators, among whom around 1,400 people were killed during the unrest last year.

The trial proceeded while she was absent by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being the mastermind of multiple fatalities during the protests. The former leader rejected every accusation, describing the process as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The decision signifies a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over extended periods of oppression. Families of those killed and wounded had requested tough penalties.

Answering the judgment in a five-page statement, Hasina said the death penalty was the temporary leadership's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was proud of her government's record on human rights.

"I am not afraid to face my accusers in a just legal forum where the proof can be evaluated and tested fairly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under tightened security ahead of the ruling on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics organizing a demonstration and cheering as the verdict was read.

The city has seen a notable rise in disturbances, with multiple explosives detonated and public transport vehicles burned in the period preceding the verdict.

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

The youth-driven revolt last year began with demands to abolish state employment quotas but transformed into a broader opposition campaign.

UN human rights investigators declared in an analysis in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could constitute "crimes against humanity".

The study recorded the gunfire from minimal distance of some protesters, the deliberate maiming of others, unwarranted detentions and torture.

Disclosed sound files of a call made by the former leader authenticated by media examinations in previous months indicated she had authorized the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the proceedings.

Prior to the ruling, family members of those who died in the demonstrations told media representatives they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

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

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

"Solely at that point the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will achieve closure in their souls."

After her departure, an caretaker administration headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A national vote is set for February 2026.

However, the Awami League, Hasina's political party, was prohibited by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

The former leader cautioned during the past month that if the her faction's nominees were prohibited from running in the imminent electoral process, millions would boycott the ballot.

This decision presents a foreign relations issue for India and Bangladesh. Dhaka has formally requested her return but until now India has shown no willingness to agree.

The legal representative assigned to her her legal counsel said he was "sad [and wishes] the decision had been otherwise".

"I am unable to challenge because my clients are absent; which is why I am disappointed," he stated further.

The previous week, the defense attorneys said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN pointing out serious fair trial and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina together with her ex-interior minister and top law enforcement officer.

Even though the verdict provides certain resolution to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may not significantly ease the nation's partisan rifts.

"The fury directed at Sheikh Hasina and the her political party has not subsided," a Dhaka-based rights activist stated to news organizations. "Neither she nor the party has said sorry or shown any remorse for the killings of hundreds of people."

The advocate declared "This complicates matters for the party to be accepted by a majority of people in this state."

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

"We work with numerous persons who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are amputees now, due to the crackdown. They are incapable of excusing her."

David Bergman, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it even more difficult" for the political faction to become a standard element of the country's governance system again.

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