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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 caused her ousting.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of permitting fatal actions to be used against demonstrators, with approximately 1,400 individuals died during the disturbances last year.

Legal proceedings were conducted without her presence by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being responsible for numerous deaths during the protests. Hasina has denied every accusation, calling the trial as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The verdict marks a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over years of repression. Next of kin of victims and harmed had demanded tough penalties.

Answering the judgment in a five-page statement, she expressed the execution sentence was the interim government's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a political force and that she was proud of her administration's performance on civil liberties.

"I have no trepidation to meet my challengers in a just legal forum where the proof can be evaluated and reviewed impartially."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under tightened security ahead of the ruling on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina holding a protest and cheering as the judgment was announced.

Dhaka experienced a sudden increase in turmoil, with multiple explosives detonated and buses set on fire in the days leading up to the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, area law enforcement officer the police spokesperson stated to press agencies.

The student-led uprising in the previous year commenced through demands to abolish government job quotas but transformed into a wider anti-government movement.

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

The report documented the shooting at point-blank range of some protesters, the purposeful disabling of additional individuals, unjustified apprehensions and abuse.

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader authenticated by media examinations during the current year implied she had sanctioned the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the trial.

Prior to the ruling, family members of those who died in the demonstrations informed news agencies they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

One relative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for Hasina and others who have "committed acts of vengeance and misused their authority".

A different family member, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "implemented before the election".

"Only then the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will find peace in their hearts."

Since Hasina's ousting, an caretaker administration led by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A parliamentary election is planned for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the her former political organization, Hasina's political party, was banned by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

Hasina warned last month that if the her faction's nominees were banned from standing in the forthcoming vote, numerous would avoid the election.

The verdict now poses a foreign relations issue for both nations. Authorities have sought her return but so far India has shown no willingness to comply.

The legal representative assigned to her Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "sad [and wishes] the verdict had been different".

"I am unable to challenge because my clients are absent; for that reason I am disappointed," he added.

Recently, the defense attorneys said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN pointing out major judicial fairness and due process issues at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina in conjunction with her former home minister and security forces head.

Although the punishment grants partial finality to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may do little to soothe the country's political divisions.

"The resentment towards Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not decreased," a Dhaka-based rights activist told media outlets. "Both she and the organization has expressed regret or shown any remorse for the killings of hundreds of people."

The activist stated "This complicates matters for the organization to receive endorsement by a majority of people in this state."

The activist added that the sentence was not closure for the families of those killed and injured.

"We assist multiple individuals who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are amputees now, because of the suppression. They are incapable of excusing her."

A journalist, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it increasingly challenging" for her party to become a normal feature of the nation's political landscape again.

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