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The country's previous leader has been sentenced to death for crimes against humanity due to her severe measures on youth demonstrations which caused her forced departure.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of allowing lethal force to be used against demonstrators, among whom around 1,400 people died during the turmoil in the previous year.

Legal proceedings were conducted in absentia by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being responsible for numerous deaths during the protests. The former leader rejected all charges, describing the process as "unfair and agenda-driven".

This judgment represents a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over years of repression. Next of kin of victims and injured had called for strict sentences.

Answering the judgment in a detailed document, the former leader stated the capital punishment was the interim government's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was content of her leadership's history on human rights.

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

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under increased safeguards ahead of the verdict on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina organizing a demonstration and applauding as the sentence was declared.

The city has seen a sudden increase in unrest, with dozens of bombs exploded 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 police spokesperson stated to press agencies.

The student-led uprising in the previous year commenced through calls to eliminate government job quotas but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.

UN human rights investigators declared in an analysis in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could constitute "human rights atrocities".

The report documented the shooting at point-blank range of some protesters, the intentional injuring of others, unwarranted detentions and torture.

Leaked audio of a call made by the former leader authenticated by investigative sources earlier this year indicated she had approved the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the proceedings.

Before the decision, relatives of those fatally injured in the unrest told news agencies they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

One relative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for her and co-accused who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and misused their authority".

Lucky Akther, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "carried out before the election".

"Only then the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will achieve closure in their minds."

Following her removal, an caretaker administration under the guidance of economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A national vote is planned for February 2026.

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

She alerted last month that if the party's candidates were banned from standing in the forthcoming vote, numerous would avoid the vote.

The judgment creates a foreign relations issue for the neighboring countries. Dhaka has formally requested her return but until now India has demonstrated no inclination to acquiesce.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer the defense lawyer said he was "sad [and wishes] the verdict had been different".

"I even cannot appeal because my represented individuals are away; which is why I am sad," he added.

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

The former leader faced trial in conjunction with her previous domestic affairs official and police chief.

Even though the verdict grants partial finality to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may do little to soothe the nation's partisan rifts.

"The fury directed at Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League has not diminished," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka stated to media outlets. "The leader and her faction has expressed regret or displayed repentance for the killings of hundreds of people."

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

The activist added that the penalty was not closure for the families of those who died and were wounded.

"We support multiple individuals who lost their limbs forever, they are currently without limbs, as a result of the harsh measures. They cannot pardon her."

An analyst, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it increasingly challenging" for Awami League to become a standard element of Bangladeshi politics again.

This may change if "there is some kind of apology and a disassociation with Sheikh Hasina and the former hierarchy," he expressed.