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The country's previous leader has been given a death sentence for atrocities due to her severe measures on student-led protests which led to her forced departure.

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

The trial proceeded without her presence by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

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

The decision signifies a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over years of repression. Relatives of the deceased and harmed had requested severe punishments.

Responding to the decision in a comprehensive declaration, the former leader stated the death penalty was the caretaker administration's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a political force and that she was proud of her administration's performance on human rights.

"I have no trepidation to confront those accusing me in a fair court where the facts can be assessed and tested fairly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under increased safeguards ahead of the decision on Monday, with several of her detractors organizing a demonstration and celebrating as the verdict was read.

The city has seen a sudden increase in unrest, with numerous incendiary devices set off and buses set on fire in the period preceding the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, regional security representative Jisanul Haque informed media outlets.

The youth-driven revolt last year started with requests to remove state employment quotas but evolved into a more extensive dissent initiative.

United Nations rights examiners stated in a document in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could constitute "human rights atrocities".

The paper detailed the gunfire from minimal distance of some protesters, the deliberate maiming of additional individuals, arbitrary arrests and abuse.

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader verified by media examinations earlier this year implied she had approved the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the trial.

Prior to the ruling, relatives of those who died in the demonstrations stated to media representatives they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

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

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

"Solely at that point the kin of victims [in the protests] will obtain solace in their hearts."

After her departure, an interim government under the guidance of economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A national vote is set for February 2026.

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

Hasina warned in the previous month that if the party's candidates were banned from standing in the imminent electoral process, countless would abstain the election.

The verdict now poses a diplomatic challenge for the neighboring countries. Authorities have sought her return but to date India has expressed no readiness to acquiesce.

Her officially designated attorney her legal counsel said he was "sad [and wishes] the decision had been otherwise".

"I even cannot appeal because my clients are absent; for that reason I am disappointed," he continued.

The previous week, the defense attorneys said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN raising major judicial fairness and due process issues at the ICT.

Hasina was tried alongside her previous domestic affairs official and police chief.

While the sentence grants partial finality to kin of victims in the protests, it may not significantly ease the country's political divisions.

"The resentment towards Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not decreased," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka told media outlets. "Both she and the organization has apologised or demonstrated contrition for the deaths of numerous individuals."

She said "This creates challenges for the party to be accepted by a most citizens in this nation."

The advocate continued that the punishment was not finality for the kin of those who died and were wounded.

"We work with several people who suffered permanent amputations, they are amputees now, due to the crackdown. 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 particularly hard" for the political faction to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.

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