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The country's previous leader has been sentenced to death for human rights violations stemming from her crackdown on student-led protests which resulted in her removal from power.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of allowing lethal force to be used against protesters, among whom around 1,400 people died during the disturbances in the previous year.

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

Legal authorities charged her of being behind multiple fatalities during the protests. She has refuted all charges, describing the process as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The decision signifies a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over years of repression. Families of those killed and harmed had called for tough penalties.

Reacting to the verdict in a comprehensive declaration, the former leader stated the execution sentence was the interim government's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was satisfied of her government's record on individual freedoms.

"I have no trepidation to face my accusers in a fair court where the facts can be assessed and tested fairly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under increased safeguards before the decision on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics organizing a demonstration and applauding as the verdict was read.

The city has seen a sudden increase in disturbances, with numerous incendiary devices set off and public transport vehicles burned in the time before the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, local police official the authorities' representative told media outlets.

The protest movement led by students during 2024 commenced through calls to eliminate public sector reservation policies but morphed into a broader opposition campaign.

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

The paper detailed the firing at close quarters of a number of activists, the deliberate maiming of others, unjustified apprehensions and mistreatment.

Unauthorized recordings of a telephone conversation involving Hasina authenticated by investigative sources earlier this year indicated she had authorized the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the trial.

Prior to the ruling, family members of those killed during the protests informed media representatives they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

A family representative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for her and co-accused who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and exploited their positions".

Another relative, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "executed before the election".

"Only then the families of those killed [in the protests] will achieve closure in their souls."

After her departure, an caretaker administration under the guidance of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A national vote is planned for February 2026.

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

The former leader cautioned last month that if the the League's representatives were banned from standing in the imminent electoral process, millions would boycott the election.

The verdict now poses a international dilemma for India and Bangladesh. The Bangladesh government has asked her return but so far India has expressed no readiness to acquiesce.

The legal representative assigned to her her legal counsel said he was "disappointed and hoping the decision had been otherwise".

"I even cannot appeal because my defendants are not present; that's why I am disheartened," he added.

The previous week, her legal team said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN highlighting serious fair trial and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina alongside her former home minister and police chief.

While the sentence provides certain resolution to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the country's political divisions.

"The fury directed at the former leader and the the former ruling faction has not subsided," a human rights advocate from the capital 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 organization to receive endorsement by a bulk of the population in this state."

The advocate continued that the punishment was not closure for the kin of those killed and injured.

"We support several people who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are amputees now, because of the suppression. They cannot pardon her."

David Bergman, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it increasingly challenging" for Awami League to become a normal feature of the nation's political landscape again.

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