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The country's previous leader has been given a death sentence for crimes against humanity over her crackdown on youth demonstrations which caused her forced departure.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of permitting fatal actions to be used against protesters, with approximately 1,400 individuals died during the unrest in the previous year.

The trial proceeded without her presence by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being the mastermind of multiple fatalities during the protests. Hasina has denied the entire case, calling the trial as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The verdict marks a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over years of repression. Relatives of the deceased and injured had demanded tough penalties.

Responding to the decision in a detailed document, she expressed the execution sentence was the temporary leadership's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a political force and that she was content of her administration's performance on human rights.

"I have no trepidation to face my accusers in a just legal forum where the evidence can be weighed and reviewed impartially."

The capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under enhanced protection before the decision on Monday, with several of her detractors staging a rally and cheering as the judgment was announced.

Dhaka experienced a recent spike in disturbances, with dozens of bombs exploded and buses set on fire in the time before the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, regional security representative Jisanul Haque told press agencies.

The student-led uprising during 2024 began with requests to remove government job quotas but evolved into a more extensive dissent initiative.

United Nations rights examiners said in a report in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could represent "human rights atrocities".

The study recorded the gunfire from minimal distance of some protesters, the intentional injuring of additional individuals, unjustified apprehensions and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of one of Hasina's phone calls confirmed by external reviews earlier this year implied she had sanctioned the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the legal process.

Before the decision, family members of those who died in the demonstrations informed media representatives they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

Ramjan Ali, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for Hasina and others who have "committed acts of vengeance and misused their authority".

A different family member, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "implemented before the election".

"Only then the kin of victims [in the protests] will obtain solace in their minds."

Since Hasina's ousting, an caretaker administration under the guidance of economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A parliamentary election is set for February 2026.

However, the her former political organization, her political faction, was outlawed by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

The former leader cautioned in the previous month that if the her faction's nominees were banned from standing in the forthcoming vote, numerous would avoid the election.

This decision presents a international dilemma for India and Bangladesh. Dhaka has formally requested her return but to date India has shown no willingness to comply.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer the defense lawyer said he was "unhappy and desiring the outcome had varied".

"I cannot even contest because my clients are absent; for that reason I am sad," he stated further.

Recently, the defense attorneys said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN pointing out significant due process and due process issues at the ICT.

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

While the sentence provides certain resolution to families of killed in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the nation's partisan rifts.

"The resentment towards the former leader and the the former ruling faction has not diminished," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka stated to media outlets. "The leader and her faction has said sorry or displayed repentance for the fatalities of countless citizens."

She said "This creates challenges for the party to be accepted by a bulk of the population in this state."

The advocate continued that the penalty was not finality for the families of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We assist several people who lost their limbs forever, they are amputees now, because of the suppression. They cannot pardon her."

A journalist, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it increasingly challenging" for Awami League to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.

This may change if "an expression of regret occurs and a separation from Hasina and the former hierarchy," he said.