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The country's previous leader has been sentenced to death for atrocities over her harsh response on protests led by students which resulted in her forced departure.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of permitting fatal actions to be used against protesters, 1,400 of whom lost their lives during the disturbances during 2024.

Hasina was tried while she was absent by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being the mastermind of multiple fatalities during the protests. She has refuted the entire case, labeling the proceedings as "biased and politically motivated".

This judgment represents a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over extended periods of oppression. Next of kin of victims and harmed had requested tough penalties.

Responding to the decision in a detailed document, she expressed the death penalty was the caretaker administration's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a political force and that she was content of her government's record on individual freedoms.

"I have no trepidation to face my accusers in a fair court where the proof can be evaluated and examined justly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under enhanced protection prior to the verdict on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics holding a protest and cheering as the verdict was read.

The capital witnessed a sudden increase in turmoil, with multiple explosives detonated and coaches ignited in the days leading up to the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, regional security representative Jisanul Haque told news organizations.

The student-led uprising during 2024 commenced through demands to abolish public sector reservation policies but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.

UN human rights investigators stated in a document in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could represent "violations of human dignity".

The report documented the shooting at point-blank range of certain demonstrators, the purposeful disabling of others, unjustified apprehensions and abuse.

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader authenticated by media examinations earlier this year indicated she had sanctioned the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the trial.

Ahead of the verdict, kin of those killed during the protests stated to media representatives they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

One relative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for Hasina and others who have "engaged in retaliatory actions 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".

"Exclusively thereafter the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will achieve closure in their hearts."

After her departure, an temporary leadership led by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A national vote is planned for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the Hasina's political party, the former ruling party, was outlawed by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

Hasina warned last month that if the her faction's nominees were prohibited from running in the imminent electoral process, numerous would avoid the vote.

The verdict now poses a foreign relations issue for the neighboring countries. Dhaka has formally requested her repatriation but so far India has expressed no readiness to agree.

Her officially designated attorney the defense lawyer said he was "sad [and wishes] the outcome had varied".

"I am unable to challenge because my clients are absent; that's why I am sad," he continued.

Recently, the defense attorneys said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN raising significant due process and due process issues at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina in conjunction with her ex-interior minister and security forces head.

While the sentence grants partial finality to families of killed in the protests, it may not significantly ease the nation's partisan rifts.

"The fury directed at the former leader and the the former ruling faction has not diminished," a human rights advocate from the capital stated to media outlets. "The leader and her faction has said sorry or shown any remorse for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The activist stated "It makes it difficult for the organization to receive endorsement by a bulk of the population in this nation."

The advocate continued that the sentence was not resolution for the relatives of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

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

David Bergman, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it increasingly challenging" for her party to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.

This may change if "there is some kind of apology and a distancing from Hasina and the previous administration," he stated.