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The country's previous leader has been sentenced to death for crimes against humanity over her severe measures on youth demonstrations which caused her forced departure.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of permitting fatal actions to be used against protesters, among whom around 1,400 people died during the disturbances during 2024.

Hasina was tried while she was absent by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being the mastermind of multiple fatalities during the protests. The former leader rejected every accusation, labeling the proceedings as "biased and politically motivated".

The decision signifies a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over years of repression. Relatives of the deceased and wounded had requested severe punishments.

Answering the judgment in a comprehensive declaration, she expressed the capital punishment was the temporary leadership's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a electoral entity and that she was content of her leadership's history on human rights.

"I am not afraid to confront those accusing me in a fair court where the evidence can be weighed and reviewed impartially."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under tightened security before the decision on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina organizing a demonstration and celebrating as the verdict was read.

The capital witnessed a recent spike in turmoil, with dozens of bombs exploded and coaches ignited in the days leading up to the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, regional security representative Jisanul Haque told news organizations.

The student-led uprising in the previous year began with calls to eliminate government job quotas but transformed into a broader opposition campaign.

UN human rights investigators declared in an analysis in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could represent "crimes against humanity".

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

Leaked audio of one of Hasina's phone calls authenticated by external reviews earlier this year indicated she had sanctioned the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the proceedings.

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

A family representative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for the former leader and associates who have "committed acts of vengeance and misused their authority".

Lucky Akther, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "executed before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the kin of victims [in the protests] will obtain solace in their souls."

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

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

She alerted last month that if the the League's representatives were prohibited from running in the imminent electoral process, countless would abstain the ballot.

The verdict now poses a international dilemma for the neighboring countries. The Bangladesh government has asked her extradition but until now India has demonstrated no inclination to acquiesce.

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

"I cannot even contest because my defendants are not present; which is why I am sad," he stated further.

The previous week, Hasina's lawyers said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN pointing out significant due process and due process issues at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial in conjunction with her ex-interior minister and security forces head.

Although the punishment offers some closure to families of killed in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the state's ideological splits.

"The fury directed at Sheikh Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not subsided," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka informed press agencies. "The leader and her faction has said sorry or displayed repentance for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The advocate declared "This complicates matters for the organization to receive endorsement by a majority of people in this country."

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

"We assist several people who lost their limbs forever, they are now disabled, due to the crackdown. They are incapable of excusing her."

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

This could alter if "a form of contrition emerges and a separation from the former leader and the former hierarchy," he expressed.