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The country's previous leader has been given a death sentence for human rights violations due to her harsh response on student-led protests which resulted in her forced departure.

Hasina was declared culpable of allowing lethal force to be used against demonstrators, among whom around 1,400 people died during the unrest during 2024.

The trial proceeded in absentia by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being behind hundreds of killings during the protests. The former leader rejected all charges, labeling the proceedings as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

This judgment represents a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over extended periods of oppression. Families of those killed and harmed had called for tough penalties.

Responding to the decision in a comprehensive declaration, the former leader stated the execution sentence was the interim government's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a political force and that she was satisfied of her government's record on civil liberties.

"I am not afraid to face my accusers in a fair court where the facts can be assessed and examined justly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under increased safeguards before the verdict on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina holding a protest and celebrating as the judgment was announced.

Dhaka experienced a notable rise in disturbances, with multiple explosives detonated and buses set on fire in the days leading up to the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, area law enforcement officer the police spokesperson informed media outlets.

The protest movement led by students in the previous year commenced through demands to abolish 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 constitute "human rights atrocities".

The study recorded the firing at close quarters of certain demonstrators, the intentional injuring of further participants, arbitrary arrests and torture.

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

Before the decision, relatives of those fatally injured in the unrest told press outlets they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

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

Another relative, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "executed before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the families of those killed [in the protests] will achieve closure in their souls."

After her departure, an temporary leadership headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A national vote is planned for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the Awami League, her political faction, was outlawed by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

Hasina warned last month that if the party's candidates were banned from standing in the imminent electoral process, numerous would avoid the vote.

This decision presents a international dilemma for both nations. The Bangladesh government has asked her extradition but so far India has shown no willingness to agree.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "unhappy and desiring the verdict had been different".

"I cannot even contest because my clients are absent; for that reason I am sad," he stated further.

Recently, Hasina's lawyers said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN highlighting major judicial fairness and due process issues at the ICT.

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

While the sentence offers some closure to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may not significantly ease the nation's partisan rifts.

"The resentment towards Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League has not decreased," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka told press agencies. "The leader and her faction has apologised or demonstrated contrition for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The activist stated "It makes it difficult for the organization to receive endorsement by a majority of people in this country."

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

"We support multiple individuals who suffered permanent amputations, they are now disabled, because of the suppression. They cannot pardon her."

David Bergman, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it increasingly challenging" for the political faction to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.

This could alter if "a form of contrition emerges and a disassociation with the former leader and the former hierarchy," he stated.