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The country's previous leader has been sentenced to death for atrocities due to her harsh response on student-led protests which caused her forced departure.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of authorizing deadly measures to be used against protesters, among whom around 1,400 people lost their lives during the disturbances during 2024.

Legal proceedings were conducted without her presence by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being responsible for hundreds of killings during the protests. She has refuted all charges, labeling the proceedings as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The decision signifies a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over extended periods of oppression. Relatives of the deceased and wounded had requested strict sentences.

Responding to the decision in a detailed document, Hasina said the execution sentence was the interim government's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a electoral entity and that she was content of her government's record on human rights.

"I do not fear to confront those accusing me in a fair court where the evidence can be weighed and reviewed impartially."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under increased safeguards ahead of the ruling on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics organizing a demonstration and applauding as the judgment was announced.

The capital witnessed a notable rise in disturbances, with dozens of bombs exploded and buses set on fire in the period preceding the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, local police official the police spokesperson told press agencies.

The youth-driven revolt last year started with requests to remove government job quotas but morphed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

International human rights monitors said in a report in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could amount to "crimes against humanity".

The paper detailed the firing at close quarters of some protesters, the deliberate maiming of further participants, arbitrary arrests and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of a telephone conversation involving Hasina verified by investigative sources during the current 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, family members of those killed during the protests told media representatives they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

Ramjan Ali, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for her and co-accused who have "committed acts of vengeance and misused their authority".

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

"Solely at that point the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will find peace in their hearts."

Following her removal, an interim government led by economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A national vote is scheduled for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the Awami League, Hasina's political party, was banned by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

She alerted last month that if the party's candidates were prohibited from running in the forthcoming vote, numerous would avoid the election.

The judgment creates a international dilemma for both nations. The Bangladesh government has asked her repatriation but until now India has demonstrated no inclination to comply.

The legal representative assigned to her her legal counsel said he was "unhappy and desiring the outcome had varied".

"I cannot even contest because my defendants are not present; which is why I am disappointed," he stated further.

The previous week, her legal team said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN pointing out significant due process and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina alongside her former home minister and top law enforcement officer.

Although the punishment provides certain resolution to kin of victims in the protests, it may not significantly ease the country's political divisions.

"The fury directed at Sheikh Hasina and the her political party has not subsided," a human rights advocate from the capital stated to media outlets. "The leader and her faction has said sorry or displayed repentance for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The advocate declared "This creates challenges for the party to be accepted by a majority of people in this nation."

The advocate continued that the sentence was not resolution for the families of those who died and were wounded.

"We assist several people who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are now disabled, due to the crackdown. They are incapable of excusing her."

A journalist, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it particularly hard" for the political faction 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 former hierarchy," he stated.