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The country's previous leader has been given a death sentence for crimes against humanity due to her severe measures on protests led by students which caused her ousting.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of authorizing deadly measures to be used against demonstrators, with approximately 1,400 individuals were killed during the unrest during 2024.

Legal proceedings were conducted while she was absent by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being responsible for hundreds of killings during the protests. Hasina has denied the entire case, calling the trial as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The verdict marks a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over extended periods of oppression. Families of those killed and harmed had requested tough penalties.

Answering the judgment in a five-page statement, she expressed the capital punishment was the caretaker administration's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a electoral entity and that she was proud of her leadership's history on individual freedoms.

"I do not fear to face my accusers in a just legal forum where the evidence can be weighed and tested fairly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under tightened security prior to the decision on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics holding a protest and cheering as the verdict was read.

The city has seen a recent spike in disturbances, with dozens of bombs exploded and buses set on fire in the period preceding the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, area law enforcement officer Jisanul Haque stated to media outlets.

The protest movement led by students in the previous year started with calls to eliminate state employment quotas but transformed into a wider anti-government movement.

United Nations rights examiners declared in an analysis in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could represent "crimes against humanity".

The study recorded the shooting at point-blank range of a number of activists, the purposeful disabling of additional individuals, unwarranted detentions and abuse.

Leaked audio of a call made by the former leader confirmed by investigative sources earlier this year implied she had approved the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the proceedings.

Ahead of the verdict, family members of those who died in the demonstrations 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 Hasina and others who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and exploited their positions".

Another relative, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "executed before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the families of those killed [in the protests] will obtain solace in their hearts."

Since Hasina's ousting, an temporary leadership headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A national vote is set for February 2026.

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

Hasina warned in the previous month that if the her faction's nominees were banned from standing in the upcoming election, millions would boycott the ballot.

This decision presents a diplomatic challenge for both nations. Dhaka has formally requested her extradition but so far India has expressed no readiness to agree.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "disappointed and hoping the decision had been otherwise".

"I cannot even contest because my clients are absent; that's why I am disappointed," he added.

The previous week, her legal team said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN highlighting significant due process and due process issues at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina in conjunction with her previous domestic affairs official and police chief.

Although the punishment grants partial finality to families of killed in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the nation's partisan rifts.

"The resentment towards the former leader and the Awami League has not diminished," a human rights advocate from the capital stated to news organizations. "Both she and the organization has apologised or demonstrated contrition for the killings of hundreds of people."

She said "It makes it difficult for the party to be accepted by a most citizens in this nation."

The activist added that the sentence was not closure for the kin of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We work with multiple individuals who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are amputees now, because of the suppression. They are incapable of excusing her."

A journalist, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it even more difficult" for the political faction to become a normal feature of the country's governance system again.

This may change if "a form of contrition emerges and a disassociation with Hasina and the old leadership," he expressed.