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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.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of allowing lethal force to be used against activists, with approximately 1,400 individuals lost their lives during the turmoil last year.

Legal proceedings were conducted while she was absent by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being responsible for hundreds of killings during the protests. Hasina has denied the entire case, calling the trial as "biased and politically motivated".

The decision signifies a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over extended periods of oppression. Relatives of the deceased and injured had requested tough penalties.

Reacting to the verdict in a five-page statement, the former leader stated the death penalty was the temporary leadership's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a electoral entity and that she was proud of her government's record on civil liberties.

"I do not fear to confront those accusing me in a proper tribunal where the proof can be evaluated and examined justly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under tightened security ahead of the decision on Monday, with several of her detractors holding a protest and applauding as the sentence was declared.

Dhaka experienced a recent spike in turmoil, with multiple explosives detonated and buses set on fire in the period preceding 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 stated to press agencies.

The student-led uprising during 2024 commenced through requests to remove government job quotas but evolved into a wider anti-government movement.

UN human rights investigators stated in a document in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could constitute "crimes against humanity".

The paper detailed the gunfire from minimal distance of some protesters, the intentional injuring of additional individuals, unjustified apprehensions and abuse.

Leaked audio of one of Hasina's phone calls authenticated by investigative sources in previous months implied she had sanctioned the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the legal process.

Before the decision, family members of those who died in the demonstrations stated to media representatives they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

Ramjan Ali, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for the former leader and associates who have "performed revengeful deeds and misused their authority".

A different family member, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "carried out before the election".

"Only then the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will achieve closure in their minds."

Following her removal, an interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A parliamentary election is scheduled for February 2026.

However, the her former political organization, her political faction, was banned by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

She alerted in the previous month that if the her faction's nominees were banned from standing in the upcoming election, numerous would avoid the election.

This decision presents a foreign relations issue for both nations. Authorities have sought her repatriation but until now India has expressed no readiness to agree.

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

"I am unable to challenge because my defendants are not present; that's why I am sad," he continued.

The previous week, the defense attorneys said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN pointing out significant due process and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

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

Even though the verdict offers some closure to families of killed in the protests, it may do little to soothe the country's political divisions.

"The fury directed at Hasina and the Awami League has not subsided," a Dhaka-based rights activist informed media outlets. "The leader and her faction has said sorry or shown any remorse for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The advocate declared "It makes it difficult for the faction to gain approval by a most citizens in this nation."

The activist added that the sentence was not finality for the kin of those who died and were wounded.

"We assist numerous persons who suffered permanent amputations, they are now disabled, due to the crackdown. They will never be able to forgive her."

A journalist, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, 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 might transform if "an expression of regret occurs and a separation from Sheikh Hasina and the former hierarchy," he expressed.