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

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of permitting fatal actions to be used against demonstrators, among whom around 1,400 people lost their lives during the unrest during 2024.

The trial proceeded in absentia by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being the mastermind of multiple fatalities during the protests. She has refuted all charges, labeling the proceedings as "biased and politically motivated".

The verdict marks a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over years of repression. Relatives of the deceased and harmed had demanded tough penalties.

Reacting to the verdict in a detailed document, the former leader stated the execution sentence was the caretaker administration's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a political force and that she was satisfied of her government's record on individual freedoms.

"I do not fear to face my accusers in a just legal forum where the facts can be assessed and tested fairly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under enhanced protection prior to the ruling on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina holding a protest and celebrating as the verdict was read.

Dhaka experienced a recent spike in unrest, with dozens of bombs exploded and coaches ignited in the time before the verdict.

One explosive incident was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, local police official the police spokesperson stated to media outlets.

The student-led uprising last year commenced through demands to abolish state employment quotas but morphed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

International human rights monitors declared in an analysis in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could represent "crimes against humanity".

The report documented the firing at close quarters of some protesters, the deliberate maiming of further participants, unjustified apprehensions and mistreatment.

Disclosed sound files of a telephone conversation involving Hasina authenticated by media examinations in previous months implied she had authorized the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the legal process.

Before the decision, kin of those fatally injured in the unrest informed press outlets they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

One relative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for her and co-accused who have "committed acts of vengeance and abused their power".

Another relative, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "carried out before the election".

"Only then the kin of victims [in the protests] will achieve closure in their hearts."

After her departure, an temporary leadership headed by economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A parliamentary election is planned for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the Hasina's political party, her political faction, was outlawed by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

She alerted last month that if the her faction's nominees were banned from standing in the upcoming election, countless would abstain the ballot.

The judgment creates a diplomatic challenge for both nations. The Bangladesh government has asked her extradition but until now India has demonstrated no inclination to comply.

Her officially designated attorney her legal counsel said he was "unhappy and desiring the outcome had varied".

"I am unable to challenge because my clients are absent; that's why I am sad," he stated further.

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

Hasina was tried together with her previous domestic affairs official and top law enforcement officer.

Even though the verdict offers some closure to families of killed in the protests, it may not significantly ease the nation's partisan rifts.

"The anger against Sheikh Hasina and the her political party has not subsided," 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 fatalities of countless citizens."

The activist stated "It makes it difficult for the organization to receive endorsement by a bulk of the population in this state."

The advocate continued that the penalty was not resolution for the kin of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We support multiple individuals who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are currently without limbs, because of the suppression. They cannot pardon her."

A journalist, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it even more difficult" 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 former hierarchy," he expressed.