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The country's previous leader has been given a death sentence for atrocities due to her harsh response on student-led protests which caused her removal from power.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of authorizing deadly measures to be used against demonstrators, 1,400 of whom died during the turmoil during 2024.

The trial proceeded while she was absent by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being the mastermind of multiple fatalities during the protests. The former leader rejected every accusation, calling the trial as "biased and politically motivated".

The verdict marks a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over long-standing suppression. Relatives of the deceased and wounded had requested tough penalties.

Responding to the decision in a comprehensive declaration, the former leader stated the execution sentence 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 individual freedoms.

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

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under increased safeguards ahead of the verdict on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina organizing a demonstration and celebrating as the judgment was announced.

Dhaka experienced a sudden increase in turmoil, with numerous incendiary devices set off and coaches ignited in the days leading up to the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, area law enforcement officer the authorities' representative told media outlets.

The protest movement led by students in the previous year started with calls to eliminate public sector reservation policies but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.

United Nations rights examiners stated in a document in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could constitute "violations of human dignity".

The paper detailed the gunfire from minimal distance of a number of activists, the purposeful disabling of additional individuals, unjustified apprehensions and torture.

Leaked audio of a call made by the former leader confirmed by investigative sources earlier this year indicated she had authorized the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the trial.

Prior to the ruling, family members of those killed during the protests informed news agencies they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

A family representative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for the former leader and associates who have "performed revengeful deeds and abused their power".

Lucky Akther, 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 obtain solace in their souls."

Since Hasina's ousting, an interim government led by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A parliamentary election is set for February 2026.

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

She alerted during the past month that if the party's candidates were prohibited from running in the upcoming election, millions would boycott the vote.

The verdict now poses a foreign relations issue for the neighboring countries. The Bangladesh government has asked her return but so far India has expressed no readiness to acquiesce.

The legal representative assigned to her Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "sad [and wishes] the outcome had varied".

"I even cannot appeal because my defendants are not present; that's why I am disheartened," he stated further.

The previous week, the defense attorneys said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN highlighting major judicial fairness and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Hasina was tried alongside her former home minister and security forces head.

Even though the verdict grants partial finality to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may not significantly ease the country's political divisions.

"The anger against the former leader and the the former ruling faction has not diminished," a human rights advocate from the capital told press agencies. "Neither she nor the party has expressed regret or displayed repentance for the deaths of numerous individuals."

She said "It makes it difficult for the organization to receive endorsement by a bulk of the population in this country."

The activist added that the punishment was not closure for the relatives of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

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

An analyst, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it increasingly challenging" for her party to become a normal feature of the country's governance system again.

This could alter if "there is some kind of apology and a disassociation with Sheikh Hasina and the old leadership," he expressed.