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The country's previous leader has been sentenced to death for atrocities due to her harsh response on student-led protests which led to her ousting.

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

Legal proceedings were conducted in absentia by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being behind numerous deaths during the protests. Hasina has denied every accusation, describing the process as "biased and politically motivated".

This judgment represents a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over years of repression. Next of kin of victims and injured had called for tough penalties.

Reacting to the verdict in a comprehensive declaration, she expressed the capital punishment was the caretaker administration's way of "nullifying [her party] 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 meet my challengers in a just legal forum where the evidence can be weighed and reviewed impartially."

The capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under enhanced protection before the ruling on Monday, with several of her detractors staging a rally and applauding as the judgment was announced.

The city has seen a notable rise in unrest, with dozens of bombs exploded and public transport vehicles burned in the time before the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, regional security representative the authorities' representative stated to media outlets.

The student-led uprising in the previous year commenced through calls to eliminate state employment quotas but transformed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

United Nations rights examiners declared in an analysis in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could constitute "crimes against humanity".

The report documented the gunfire from minimal distance of certain demonstrators, the purposeful disabling of others, arbitrary arrests and mistreatment.

Disclosed sound files of one of Hasina's phone calls verified by investigative sources in previous months implied she had sanctioned the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the proceedings.

Before the decision, family members of those fatally injured in the unrest told press outlets they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

A family representative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for her and co-accused who have "performed revengeful deeds and misused their authority".

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

"Solely at that point the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will find peace in their minds."

After her departure, an temporary leadership under the guidance of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A national vote is set for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the Hasina's political party, the former ruling party, was outlawed by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

The former leader cautioned during the past month that if the party's candidates were prohibited from running in the upcoming election, millions would boycott the election.

This decision presents a diplomatic challenge for the neighboring countries. Authorities have sought her extradition but to date India has shown no willingness to acquiesce.

Her officially designated attorney her legal counsel said he was "unhappy and desiring the decision had been otherwise".

"I cannot even contest because my clients are absent; that's why I am disheartened," he added.

Last week, Hasina's lawyers said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN pointing out serious fair trial and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina in conjunction with her previous domestic affairs official and police chief.

Although the punishment provides certain resolution to families of killed in the protests, it may do little to soothe the country's political divisions.

"The anger against Sheikh Hasina and the her political party has not decreased," a Dhaka-based rights activist informed news organizations. "The leader and her faction has said sorry or shown any remorse for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The advocate declared "This creates challenges for the party to be accepted by a majority of people in this nation."

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

"We support numerous persons who suffered permanent amputations, they are now disabled, due to the crackdown. They cannot pardon her."

A journalist, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a normal feature of the country's governance system again.

This could alter if "there is some kind of apology and a distancing from the former leader and the former hierarchy," he expressed.