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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 ousting.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of permitting fatal actions to be used against protesters, among whom around 1,400 people lost their lives during the turmoil in the previous year.

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

Prosecutors accused her of being behind numerous deaths during the protests. She has refuted all charges, calling the trial as "biased and politically motivated".

This judgment represents a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over years of repression. Relatives of the deceased and injured had demanded severe punishments.

Reacting to the verdict in a detailed document, Hasina said the execution sentence was the temporary leadership's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a political force and that she was proud of her leadership's history on individual freedoms.

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

The capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under tightened security before the decision on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics organizing a demonstration and cheering as the verdict was read.

The city has seen a recent spike in disturbances, with dozens of bombs exploded and public transport vehicles burned in the time before the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, area law enforcement officer Jisanul Haque told press agencies.

The student-led uprising last year began with demands to abolish government job quotas but transformed into a wider anti-government movement.

International human rights monitors declared in an analysis in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could constitute "human rights atrocities".

The study recorded the shooting at point-blank range of a number of activists, the intentional injuring of others, unwarranted detentions and mistreatment.

Disclosed sound files of a call made by the former leader confirmed by external reviews in previous months suggested she had authorized the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the proceedings.

Prior to the ruling, family members of those who died in the demonstrations told press outlets they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

One relative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for Hasina and others who have "committed acts of vengeance and misused their authority".

Another relative, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "implemented before the election".

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

After her departure, an temporary leadership under the guidance of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A general election is planned for February 2026.

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

The former leader cautioned last month that if the the League's representatives were prohibited from running in the imminent electoral process, numerous would avoid the election.

This decision presents a foreign relations issue for the neighboring countries. Dhaka has formally requested her return but until now India has expressed no readiness to agree.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "sad [and wishes] the verdict had been different".

"I cannot even contest because my clients are absent; which is why I am disheartened," he continued.

Recently, her legal team said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN pointing out significant due process and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial in conjunction with her ex-interior minister and top law enforcement officer.

While the sentence grants partial finality to kin of victims in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the nation's partisan rifts.

"The anger against the former leader and the Awami League has not diminished," a Dhaka-based rights activist stated to media outlets. "Neither she nor the party has apologised or demonstrated contrition for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The advocate declared "This complicates matters for the faction to gain approval by a bulk of the population in this nation."

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

"We work with several people who suffered permanent amputations, they are now disabled, due to the crackdown. They cannot pardon her."

An analyst, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it particularly hard" for Awami League to become a normal feature of the nation's political landscape again.

This might transform if "there is some kind of apology and a distancing from Hasina and the previous administration," he said.