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The country's previous leader has been sentenced to death for human rights violations due to her crackdown on protests led by students which resulted in her removal from power.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of allowing lethal force to be used against activists, with approximately 1,400 individuals were killed during the turmoil last year.

Hasina was tried in absentia by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India following her ouster in July 2024.

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

The decision signifies a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over long-standing suppression. Families of those killed and injured had called for tough penalties.

Reacting to the verdict in a detailed document, the former leader stated the capital punishment was the temporary leadership's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was content of her government's record on individual freedoms.

"I do not fear to face my accusers in a proper tribunal where the evidence can be weighed and reviewed impartially."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under increased safeguards before the decision on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina holding a protest and applauding as the judgment was announced.

The city has seen a sudden increase in disturbances, with dozens of bombs exploded and public transport vehicles burned in the period preceding the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, regional security representative the police spokesperson stated to media outlets.

The student-led uprising in the previous year started with calls to eliminate state employment quotas but evolved into a more extensive dissent initiative.

International human rights monitors declared in an analysis in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could constitute "violations of human dignity".

The report documented the shooting at point-blank range of a number of activists, the intentional injuring of further participants, arbitrary arrests and mistreatment.

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader confirmed by investigative sources in previous months indicated she had authorized the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the legal process.

Prior to the ruling, family members of those fatally injured in the unrest told media representatives they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

One relative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for the former leader and associates who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and misused their authority".

A different family member, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "executed before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will find peace in their souls."

After her departure, an temporary leadership led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A parliamentary election is planned for February 2026.

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

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

The verdict now poses a foreign relations issue for both nations. Dhaka has formally requested her return but until now India has demonstrated no inclination to agree.

The legal representative assigned to her the defense lawyer said he was "sad [and wishes] the outcome had varied".

"I even cannot appeal because my represented individuals are away; which is why I am sad," he continued.

Last week, the defense attorneys said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN pointing out major judicial fairness and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Hasina was tried in conjunction with her former home minister and police chief.

Although the punishment grants partial finality to families of killed in the protests, it may do little to soothe the nation's partisan rifts.

"The anger against Sheikh Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not diminished," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka stated to media outlets. "Neither she nor the party has expressed regret or displayed repentance for the killings of hundreds of people."

The advocate declared "This complicates matters for the party to be accepted by a bulk of the population in this nation."

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

"We assist numerous persons who suffered permanent amputations, they are currently without limbs, because of the suppression. They will never be able to forgive her."

David Bergman, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it even more difficult" for Awami League to become a normal feature of the nation's political landscape again.

This might transform if "there is some kind of apology and a distancing from Hasina and the previous administration," he said.