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The country's previous leader has been sentenced to death for atrocities stemming from her crackdown on protests led by students which caused her forced departure.

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

The trial proceeded while she was absent 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 the mastermind of multiple fatalities during the protests. She has refuted the entire case, calling the trial as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The verdict marks a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over years of repression. Relatives of the deceased and wounded had requested strict sentences.

Responding to the decision in a detailed document, the former leader stated the capital punishment was the temporary leadership's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was content of her leadership's history on human rights.

"I do not fear to meet my challengers in a just legal forum where the facts can be assessed and examined justly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under tightened security ahead of the ruling on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina organizing a demonstration and celebrating as the verdict was read.

The capital witnessed a sudden increase in turmoil, with multiple explosives detonated and coaches ignited in the period preceding the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, area law enforcement officer the police spokesperson told news organizations.

The protest movement led by students in the previous year began with demands to abolish public sector reservation policies but evolved into a broader opposition campaign.

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

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

Disclosed sound files of a call made by the former leader confirmed by media examinations earlier this year indicated she had sanctioned the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the legal process.

Before the decision, relatives of those who died in the demonstrations stated to news agencies they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

Ramjan Ali, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for her and co-accused who have "performed revengeful deeds 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 "executed before the election".

"Solely at that point the families of those killed [in the protests] will find peace in their souls."

After her departure, an temporary leadership led by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A general election is set for February 2026.

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

She alerted in the previous month that if the the League's representatives were barred from participating in the forthcoming vote, countless would abstain the ballot.

The judgment creates a foreign relations issue for both nations. The Bangladesh government has asked her repatriation but until now India has expressed no readiness to acquiesce.

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

"I even cannot appeal because my defendants are not present; which is why I am sad," he added.

The previous week, her legal team said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN pointing out significant due process and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina in conjunction with her ex-interior minister and security forces head.

Although the punishment 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 decreased," a human rights advocate from the capital stated to news organizations. "The leader and her faction has expressed regret or shown any remorse for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The advocate declared "This complicates matters for the organization to receive endorsement by a bulk of the population in this country."

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

"We work with multiple individuals who suffered permanent amputations, they are amputees now, because of the suppression. They will never be able to forgive her."

An analyst, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a normal feature of the nation's political landscape again.

This might transform if "a form of contrition emerges and a distancing from Hasina and the previous administration," he expressed.