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The country's previous leader has been given a death sentence for crimes against humanity due to her crackdown on student-led protests which caused her forced departure.

Hasina was declared culpable of permitting fatal actions to be used against demonstrators, among whom around 1,400 people lost their lives during the unrest last year.

Legal proceedings were conducted in absentia by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being responsible for multiple fatalities during the protests. She has refuted every accusation, calling the trial as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The decision signifies a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over long-standing suppression. Relatives of the deceased and harmed had called for severe punishments.

Responding to the decision in a five-page statement, the former leader stated the execution sentence was the interim government's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was content of her leadership's history on human rights.

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

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under enhanced protection ahead of the decision on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics organizing a demonstration and celebrating as the verdict was read.

The capital witnessed a recent spike in disturbances, 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 casualties reported, area law enforcement officer the authorities' representative informed news organizations.

The youth-driven revolt during 2024 started with calls to eliminate government job quotas but morphed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

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

The paper detailed the shooting at point-blank range of some protesters, the purposeful disabling of further participants, unjustified apprehensions and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of a telephone conversation involving Hasina verified by external reviews earlier this year implied she had authorized the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the trial.

Ahead of the verdict, kin of those fatally injured in the unrest told media representatives they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

One relative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for Hasina and others who have "performed revengeful deeds and misused their authority".

Lucky Akther, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "implemented before the election".

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

Following her removal, an temporary leadership under the guidance of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A national vote is set for February 2026.

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

The former leader cautioned during the past month that if the party's candidates were prohibited from running in the upcoming election, countless would abstain the ballot.

The verdict now poses a international dilemma for both nations. The Bangladesh government has asked her extradition but so far India has demonstrated no inclination to agree.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer her legal counsel said he was "disappointed and hoping the outcome had varied".

"I even cannot appeal because my represented individuals are away; for that reason I am disheartened," he continued.

The previous week, Hasina's lawyers said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN pointing out major judicial fairness and due process issues at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial alongside her former home minister and security forces head.

While the sentence offers some closure to kin of victims in the protests, it may do little to soothe the state's ideological splits.

"The fury directed at Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League has not subsided," a Dhaka-based rights activist informed news organizations. "Both she and the organization has apologised or shown any remorse for the fatalities of countless citizens."

She said "This complicates matters for the faction to gain approval by a majority of people in this state."

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

"We work with numerous persons who lost their limbs forever, they are now disabled, because of the suppression. They are incapable of excusing her."

An analyst, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it even more difficult" for her party to become a standard element of Bangladeshi politics again.

This could alter if "an expression of regret occurs and a disassociation with the former leader and the previous administration," he stated.