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The country's previous leader has been sentenced to death for human rights violations over her harsh response on student-led protests which resulted in her forced departure.

Hasina was declared culpable of permitting fatal actions to be used against activists, 1,400 of whom lost their lives during the disturbances in the previous year.

The trial proceeded while she was absent by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being responsible for multiple fatalities during the protests. She has refuted all charges, calling the trial as "unfair and agenda-driven".

This judgment represents a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over long-standing suppression. Families of those killed and injured had called for tough penalties.

Answering the judgment in a comprehensive declaration, the former leader stated the capital punishment was the caretaker administration's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a governing body and that she was satisfied of her government's record on individual freedoms.

"I have no trepidation to meet my challengers in a proper tribunal where the evidence can be weighed and tested fairly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under increased safeguards ahead of the verdict on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics holding a protest and celebrating as the sentence was declared.

The capital witnessed a recent spike in turmoil, with multiple explosives detonated and buses set on fire in the time before the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, regional security representative Jisanul Haque told news organizations.

The youth-driven revolt during 2024 started with requests to remove government job quotas but morphed into a broader opposition campaign.

UN human rights investigators stated in a document in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could constitute "human rights atrocities".

The study recorded the shooting at point-blank range of some protesters, the deliberate maiming of additional individuals, unwarranted detentions and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader authenticated by external reviews during the current year suggested she had authorized the use of "deadly arms" 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 told news agencies they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

One relative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for the former leader and associates who have "committed acts of vengeance and exploited their positions".

A different family member, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "executed before the election".

"Solely at that point the kin of victims [in the protests] will find peace in their souls."

Following her removal, an temporary leadership headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A general election is set for February 2026.

However, the her former political organization, Hasina's political party, was banned by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

She alerted in the previous month that if the her faction's nominees were barred from participating in the imminent electoral process, millions would boycott the vote.

The judgment creates a foreign relations issue for India and Bangladesh. Dhaka has formally requested her extradition but so far India has shown no willingness to agree.

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

"I even cannot appeal because my represented individuals are away; for that reason I am sad," he stated further.

Recently, her legal team said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN raising significant due process and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina together with her previous domestic affairs official and top law enforcement officer.

Although the punishment grants partial finality to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the country's political divisions.

"The anger against Hasina and the Awami League has not diminished," a Dhaka-based rights activist stated to media outlets. "The leader and her faction has apologised or demonstrated contrition for the deaths of numerous individuals."

She said "It makes it difficult for the party to be accepted by a most citizens in this state."

The campaigner further stated that the punishment was not closure for the families of those killed and injured.

"We support multiple individuals who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are amputees now, as a result of the harsh measures. They will never be able to forgive her."

An analyst, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it increasingly challenging" for the political faction to become a standard element of Bangladeshi politics again.

This might transform if "there is some kind of apology and a separation from Sheikh Hasina and the previous administration," he stated.