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The country's previous leader has been sentenced to death for atrocities stemming from her crackdown on student-led protests which led to her ousting.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of allowing lethal force to be used against demonstrators, among whom around 1,400 people died during the turmoil in the previous year.

The trial proceeded in absentia by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being responsible for numerous deaths during the protests. Hasina has denied every accusation, labeling the proceedings as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

This judgment represents a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over long-standing suppression. Next of kin of victims and wounded had demanded severe punishments.

Responding to the decision in a comprehensive declaration, she expressed the capital punishment was the interim government's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a political force and that she was content of her government's record on human rights.

"I am not afraid to meet my challengers in a fair court where the evidence can be weighed and tested fairly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under increased safeguards prior to the ruling on Monday, with several of her detractors staging a rally and celebrating as the sentence was declared.

The city has seen a notable rise in turmoil, with multiple explosives detonated and coaches ignited in the time before the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, regional security representative Jisanul Haque stated to press agencies.

The student-led uprising last year commenced through demands to abolish government job quotas but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.

UN human rights investigators stated in a document in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could amount to "human rights atrocities".

The paper detailed the gunfire from minimal distance of certain demonstrators, the intentional injuring of others, unjustified apprehensions and abuse.

Leaked audio of a call made by the former leader confirmed by external reviews earlier this year implied she had sanctioned the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the legal process.

Ahead of the verdict, family members of those fatally injured in the unrest stated to news agencies they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

A family representative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for the former leader and associates who have "performed revengeful deeds and exploited their positions".

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

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

After her departure, an temporary leadership led by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A national vote is scheduled for February 2026.

However, the Awami League, Hasina's political party, was banned by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

She alerted during the past month that if the her faction's nominees were prohibited from running in the upcoming election, numerous would avoid the ballot.

The judgment creates a international dilemma for the neighboring countries. The Bangladesh government has asked her extradition but so far India has shown no willingness to acquiesce.

Her officially designated attorney her legal counsel said he was "unhappy and desiring the outcome had varied".

"I am unable to challenge because my represented individuals are away; for that reason I am disheartened," he continued.

The previous week, Hasina's lawyers said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN raising major judicial fairness and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina alongside her ex-interior minister and security forces head.

Even though the verdict offers some closure to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may not significantly ease the state's ideological splits.

"The resentment towards Hasina and the Awami League has not decreased," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka stated to media outlets. "Both she and the organization has apologised or displayed repentance for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The advocate declared "This creates challenges for the faction to gain approval by a majority of people in this country."

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

"We support several people who lost their limbs forever, they are now disabled, because of the suppression. They will never be able to forgive her."

A journalist, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a standard element of the nation's political landscape again.

This could alter if "an expression of regret occurs and a separation from the former leader and the former hierarchy," he said.