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The country's previous leader has been given a death sentence for crimes against humanity over her severe measures on protests led by students which resulted in her removal from power.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of allowing lethal force to be used against demonstrators, 1,400 of whom were killed during the turmoil last year.

Hasina was tried in absentia by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

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

This judgment represents a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over extended periods of oppression. Relatives of the deceased and harmed had called for severe punishments.

Responding to the decision in a comprehensive declaration, Hasina said the execution sentence was the temporary leadership's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a political force and that she was content of her leadership's history on civil liberties.

"I do not fear to confront those accusing me in a just legal forum where the evidence can be weighed and reviewed impartially."

The capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under increased safeguards before the verdict on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics staging a rally and applauding as the sentence was declared.

The capital witnessed a notable rise in unrest, with dozens of bombs exploded 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 zero injuries documented, regional security representative the authorities' representative informed news organizations.

The student-led uprising during 2024 began with demands to abolish state employment quotas but transformed into a wider anti-government movement.

International human rights monitors said in a report in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could represent "violations of human dignity".

The report documented the firing at close quarters of a number of activists, the purposeful disabling of further participants, unwarranted detentions and mistreatment.

Disclosed sound files of a call made by the former leader confirmed by investigative sources in previous months indicated she had approved the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the legal process.

Ahead of the verdict, relatives of those fatally injured in the unrest told media representatives they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

A family representative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for Hasina and others who have "performed revengeful deeds and abused their power".

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

"Solely at that point the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will achieve closure in their minds."

Following her removal, an caretaker administration headed by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A national vote is planned for February 2026.

However, the her former political organization, the former ruling party, was banned by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

The former leader cautioned during the past month that if the her faction's nominees were banned from standing in the imminent electoral process, numerous would avoid the election.

The judgment creates a foreign relations issue for the neighboring countries. The Bangladesh government has asked her repatriation but until now India has shown no willingness to comply.

Her officially designated attorney Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "disappointed and hoping the verdict had been different".

"I even cannot appeal because my defendants are not present; for that reason I am sad," he stated further.

Recently, the defense attorneys said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN raising major judicial fairness and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Hasina was tried alongside her former home minister and police chief.

While the sentence offers some closure to kin of victims in the protests, it may do little to soothe the state's ideological splits.

"The resentment towards Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League has not decreased," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka informed news organizations. "The leader and her faction has apologised or demonstrated contrition for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The activist stated "It makes it difficult for the party to be accepted by a most citizens in this country."

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

"We support numerous persons who lost their limbs forever, they are currently without limbs, because of the suppression. They are incapable of excusing her."

David Bergman, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a normal feature of the country's governance system again.

This might transform if "an expression of regret occurs and a distancing from Sheikh Hasina and the old leadership," he stated.