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The country's previous leader has been sentenced to death for crimes against humanity due to her severe measures on protests led by students which led to her forced departure.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of allowing lethal force to be used against protesters, with approximately 1,400 individuals were killed during the turmoil in the previous year.

Legal proceedings were conducted without her presence by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being the mastermind of multiple fatalities during the protests. She has refuted every accusation, describing the process as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

This judgment represents a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over extended periods of oppression. Relatives of the deceased and wounded had requested severe punishments.

Responding to the decision in a detailed document, she expressed the execution sentence was the interim government's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a political force and that she was satisfied of her leadership's history on individual freedoms.

"I am not afraid to meet my challengers in a just legal forum where the evidence can be weighed and reviewed impartially."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under enhanced protection prior to the verdict on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics organizing a demonstration and cheering as the judgment was announced.

The capital witnessed a recent spike in disturbances, with dozens of bombs exploded and buses set on fire in the time before the verdict.

One explosive incident was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, local police official Jisanul Haque informed press agencies.

The student-led uprising last year started with demands to abolish state employment quotas but evolved into a broader opposition campaign.

United Nations rights examiners said in a report in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could constitute "violations of human dignity".

The paper detailed the firing at close quarters of certain demonstrators, the purposeful disabling of additional individuals, arbitrary arrests and torture.

Leaked audio of a telephone conversation involving Hasina verified by investigative sources earlier this year indicated she had authorized the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the legal process.

Before the decision, kin of those killed during the protests told news agencies they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

A family representative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for the former leader and associates who have "committed acts of vengeance and misused their authority".

Another relative, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "implemented before the election".

"Only then the kin of victims [in the protests] will obtain solace in their hearts."

After her departure, an temporary leadership headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A parliamentary election is set for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the Awami League, Hasina's political party, was outlawed by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

She alerted during the past month that if the the League's representatives were barred from participating in the forthcoming vote, millions would boycott the election.

This decision presents a diplomatic challenge for both nations. The Bangladesh government has asked her repatriation but to date India has demonstrated no inclination to agree.

Her officially designated attorney her legal counsel said he was "disappointed and hoping the verdict had been different".

"I cannot even contest because my represented individuals are away; for that reason I am disheartened," he added.

Recently, the defense attorneys said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN pointing out major judicial fairness and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial alongside her former home minister and police chief.

While the sentence offers some closure to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may do little to soothe the country's political divisions.

"The resentment towards Sheikh Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not decreased," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka informed news organizations. "The leader and her faction has said sorry or displayed repentance for the fatalities of countless citizens."

She said "This complicates matters for the faction to gain approval by a bulk of the population in this nation."

The campaigner further stated that the penalty was not resolution for the kin of those killed and injured.

"We work with several people who suffered permanent amputations, they are amputees now, as a result of the harsh measures. They cannot pardon her."

A journalist, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it increasingly challenging" for Awami League to become a regular participant of the country's governance system again.

This could alter if "a form of contrition emerges and a distancing from Sheikh Hasina and the former hierarchy," he expressed.