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The country's previous leader has been given a death sentence for human rights violations due to her severe measures on youth demonstrations which led to her ousting.

Hasina was declared culpable of authorizing deadly measures to be used against activists, with approximately 1,400 individuals lost their lives during the disturbances during 2024.

Legal proceedings were conducted while she was absent by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being the mastermind of hundreds of killings during the protests. She has refuted the entire case, labeling the proceedings as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The decision signifies a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over extended periods of oppression. Next of kin of victims and harmed had demanded tough penalties.

Responding to the decision in a five-page statement, she expressed the capital punishment was the caretaker administration's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was proud of her government's record on individual freedoms.

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

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under tightened security prior to the verdict on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics organizing a demonstration and applauding as the sentence was declared.

The capital witnessed a recent spike in disturbances, with numerous incendiary devices set off and coaches ignited in the days leading up to 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 press agencies.

The student-led uprising in the previous year began with demands to abolish public sector reservation policies but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.

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

The study recorded the shooting at point-blank range of a number of activists, the deliberate maiming of others, unjustified apprehensions and mistreatment.

Unauthorized recordings of a telephone conversation involving Hasina verified by investigative sources during the current year indicated she had sanctioned the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the trial.

Before the decision, kin of those fatally injured in the unrest stated to press outlets they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

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

"Only then the kin of victims [in the protests] will find peace in their hearts."

Following her removal, an caretaker administration headed by economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A national vote is planned for February 2026.

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

Hasina warned in the previous month that if the party's candidates were barred from participating in the forthcoming vote, numerous would avoid the ballot.

The verdict now poses a foreign relations issue for both nations. Dhaka has formally requested her return but so far India has expressed no readiness to agree.

The legal representative assigned to her her legal counsel said he was "sad [and wishes] the verdict had been different".

"I even cannot appeal because my defendants are not present; which is why I am sad," he added.

Last week, Hasina's lawyers said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN highlighting major judicial fairness and due process issues at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial together with her former home minister and security forces head.

Even though the verdict offers some closure to kin of victims in the protests, it may not significantly ease the state's ideological splits.

"The anger against Sheikh Hasina and the her political party has not subsided," a human rights advocate from the capital told media outlets. "Both she and the organization has said sorry or shown any remorse for the killings of hundreds of people."

She said "This creates challenges for the organization to receive endorsement by a majority of people in this country."

The activist added that the penalty was not resolution for the families of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

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

An analyst, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it even more difficult" for the political faction to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.

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