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The country's previous leader has been given a death sentence for atrocities stemming from her severe measures on youth demonstrations which caused her forced departure.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of allowing lethal force to be used against activists, among whom around 1,400 people were killed during the disturbances in the previous year.

Hasina was tried without her presence by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being responsible for numerous deaths during the protests. Hasina has denied every accusation, calling the trial as "biased and politically motivated".

The decision signifies a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over years of repression. Next of kin of victims and harmed had demanded strict sentences.

Responding to the decision in a comprehensive declaration, the former leader stated the capital punishment was the interim government's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a political force and that she was content of her administration's performance on human rights.

"I do not fear to confront those accusing me in a proper tribunal where the proof can be evaluated and reviewed impartially."

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

The capital witnessed a sudden increase in disturbances, with numerous incendiary devices set off and coaches ignited in the days leading up to the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, area law enforcement officer the police spokesperson stated to news organizations.

The youth-driven revolt during 2024 began with demands to abolish state employment quotas but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.

UN human rights investigators stated in a document in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could constitute "violations of human dignity".

The study recorded the firing at close quarters of certain demonstrators, the intentional injuring of further participants, unjustified apprehensions and mistreatment.

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader confirmed by external reviews in previous months indicated she had sanctioned the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the trial.

Before the decision, relatives of those killed during the protests told news agencies they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

Ramjan Ali, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for the former leader and associates who have "performed revengeful deeds and abused their power".

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

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

After her departure, an caretaker administration headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A national vote is scheduled for February 2026.

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

The former leader cautioned in the previous month that if the party's candidates were prohibited from running in the upcoming election, millions would boycott the ballot.

This decision presents a foreign relations issue for India and Bangladesh. The Bangladesh government has asked her repatriation but until now India has shown no willingness to acquiesce.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer her legal counsel said he was "disappointed and hoping the verdict had been different".

"I cannot even contest because my clients are absent; for that reason I am disappointed," he stated further.

Recently, her legal team said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN pointing out serious fair trial and due process issues at the ICT.

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

Although the punishment provides certain resolution to families of killed in the protests, it may not significantly ease the country's political divisions.

"The resentment towards the former leader and the Awami League has not subsided," a Dhaka-based rights activist informed media outlets. "Both she and the organization has said sorry or shown any remorse for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The advocate declared "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 relatives of those who died and were wounded.

"We work with numerous persons who lost their limbs forever, they are now disabled, because of the suppression. They are incapable of excusing her."

A journalist, 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 country's governance system again.

This might transform if "an expression of regret occurs and a distancing from Hasina and the former hierarchy," he said.