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The country's previous leader has been sentenced to death for human rights violations due to her harsh response on youth demonstrations which led to her ousting.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of permitting fatal actions to be used against protesters, 1,400 of whom died during the unrest in the previous year.

Legal proceedings were conducted while she was absent by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being the mastermind of hundreds of killings during the protests. She has refuted the entire case, calling the trial as "biased and politically motivated".

The decision signifies a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over extended periods of oppression. Families of those killed and harmed had called for strict sentences.

Responding to the decision in a comprehensive declaration, she expressed the capital punishment was the temporary leadership's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a political force and that she was proud of her administration's performance on human rights.

"I do not fear to face my accusers in a just legal forum where the facts can be assessed and tested fairly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under increased safeguards prior to the verdict on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina holding a protest and applauding as the verdict was read.

Dhaka experienced a recent spike in turmoil, with multiple explosives detonated and public transport vehicles burned in the days leading up to the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, local police official the authorities' representative informed news organizations.

The student-led uprising during 2024 started with requests to remove state employment quotas but evolved into a more extensive dissent initiative.

United Nations rights examiners declared in an analysis in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could constitute "human rights atrocities".

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

Leaked audio of a call made by the former leader confirmed by media examinations in previous months implied she had sanctioned the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the trial.

Ahead of the verdict, kin of those who died in the demonstrations informed media representatives they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

Ramjan Ali, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for Hasina and others who have "performed revengeful deeds and abused their power".

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

"Solely at that point the kin of victims [in the protests] will obtain solace in their minds."

After her departure, an temporary leadership under the guidance of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A national vote is planned for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the Awami League, her political faction, was prohibited by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

Hasina warned during the past month that if the the League's representatives were barred from participating in the forthcoming vote, numerous would avoid the election.

The verdict now poses a foreign relations issue for the neighboring countries. Dhaka has formally requested her repatriation but so far India has shown no willingness to agree.

The legal representative assigned to her her legal counsel said he was "disappointed and hoping the decision had been otherwise".

"I cannot even contest because my clients are absent; for that reason I am sad," he stated further.

The previous week, her legal team said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN raising serious fair trial and judicial process problems at the ICT.

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

Even though the verdict grants partial finality to families of killed in the protests, it may not significantly ease the state's ideological splits.

"The resentment towards Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League has not decreased," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka stated to news organizations. "The leader and her faction has apologised or shown any remorse for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The advocate declared "This complicates matters for the organization to receive endorsement by a bulk of the population in this country."

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

"We work with several people who suffered permanent amputations, they are amputees now, because of the suppression. They cannot pardon her."

An analyst, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a standard element of the country's governance system again.

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