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

Hasina was declared culpable of allowing lethal force to be used against protesters, with approximately 1,400 individuals died during the unrest 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.

Legal authorities charged her of being behind numerous deaths during the protests. Hasina has denied every accusation, describing the process as "biased and politically motivated".

The decision signifies a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over long-standing suppression. Next of kin of victims and injured had requested tough penalties.

Reacting to the verdict in a detailed document, the former leader stated the execution sentence was the interim government's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a electoral entity and that she was satisfied of her government's record on human rights.

"I have no trepidation to face my accusers in a fair court where the evidence can be weighed and reviewed impartially."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under enhanced protection before the ruling on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics organizing a demonstration and celebrating as the verdict was read.

Dhaka experienced a sudden increase in disturbances, with numerous incendiary devices set off and public transport vehicles burned in the time before the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, area law enforcement officer the police spokesperson informed media outlets.

The protest movement led by students last year began with demands to abolish public sector reservation policies but evolved into a wider anti-government movement.

International human rights monitors said in a report in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could constitute "human rights atrocities".

The report documented the gunfire from minimal distance of a number of activists, the deliberate maiming of further participants, unjustified apprehensions and abuse.

Unauthorized recordings of a telephone conversation involving Hasina authenticated by investigative sources during the current year suggested she had authorized the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the legal process.

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

A family representative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for the former leader and associates who have "performed revengeful deeds and exploited their positions".

Lucky Akther, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "implemented before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will find peace in their minds."

Since Hasina's ousting, an temporary leadership led by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A parliamentary election is planned for February 2026.

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

Hasina warned last month that if the her faction's nominees were prohibited from running in the imminent electoral process, countless would abstain the ballot.

This decision presents a diplomatic challenge for both nations. Dhaka has formally requested her extradition but until now India has demonstrated no inclination to agree.

The legal representative assigned to her the defense lawyer said he was "disappointed and hoping the verdict had been different".

"I cannot even contest because my represented individuals are away; that's why I am sad," he stated further.

Recently, the defense attorneys said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN highlighting serious fair trial and due process issues at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial in conjunction with her former home minister and security forces head.

While the sentence offers some closure to families of killed in the protests, it may do little to soothe the nation's partisan rifts.

"The fury directed at the former leader and the Awami League has not diminished," a human rights advocate from the capital stated to press agencies. "Both she and the organization has expressed regret or shown any remorse for the killings of hundreds of people."

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

The advocate continued that the penalty was not resolution for the kin of those killed and injured.

"We work with multiple individuals who suffered permanent amputations, they are now disabled, as a result of the harsh measures. They will never be able to forgive her."

David Bergman, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it particularly hard" 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 the former leader and the old leadership," he said.