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The country's previous leader has been given a death sentence for crimes against humanity over her severe measures on protests led by students which caused her removal from power.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of authorizing deadly measures to be used against demonstrators, 1,400 of whom died during the disturbances in the previous year.

Hasina was tried in absentia by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being responsible for numerous deaths during the protests. The former leader rejected every accusation, calling the trial as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The verdict marks a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over extended periods of oppression. Next of kin of victims and injured had demanded severe punishments.

Responding to the decision in a comprehensive declaration, the former leader stated the capital punishment was the temporary leadership's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was satisfied of her government's record on individual freedoms.

"I do not fear to face my accusers in a fair court where the proof can be evaluated and reviewed impartially."

The capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under increased safeguards prior to the decision on Monday, with several of her detractors organizing a demonstration and applauding as the judgment was announced.

The capital witnessed a recent spike in disturbances, with numerous incendiary devices set off and public transport vehicles burned in the time before the verdict.

One explosive incident was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, local police official the authorities' representative stated to media outlets.

The protest movement led by students last year started with calls to eliminate state employment quotas but evolved into a broader opposition campaign.

International human rights monitors said in a report in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could constitute "violations of human dignity".

The report documented the shooting at point-blank range of some protesters, the purposeful disabling of further participants, unjustified apprehensions and mistreatment.

Unauthorized recordings of one of Hasina's phone calls verified by investigative sources during the current year indicated she had approved the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the trial.

Prior to the ruling, relatives of those who died in the demonstrations stated to news agencies they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

One relative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for the former leader and associates who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and exploited their positions".

Lucky Akther, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "carried out before the election".

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

Following her removal, an caretaker administration headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A general election is scheduled for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the Awami League, Hasina's political party, was prohibited by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

Hasina warned during the past month that if the her faction's nominees were barred from participating in the imminent electoral process, numerous would avoid the election.

The judgment creates a foreign relations issue for the neighboring countries. Authorities have sought her repatriation but until now India has expressed no readiness to comply.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "disappointed and hoping the decision had been otherwise".

"I even cannot appeal because my defendants are not present; for that reason I am sad," he continued.

Recently, her legal team said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN pointing out major judicial fairness and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Hasina was tried alongside her previous domestic affairs official and security forces head.

While the sentence offers some closure to kin of victims in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the state's ideological splits.

"The fury directed at the former leader and the Awami League has not diminished," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka informed media outlets. "Both she and the organization has said sorry or shown any remorse for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The activist stated "This complicates matters for the organization to receive endorsement by a bulk of the population in this nation."

The campaigner further stated that the penalty was not closure for the families of those killed and injured.

"We work with several people who suffered permanent amputations, they are now disabled, due to the crackdown. They are incapable of excusing her."

David Bergman, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it particularly hard" for her party to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.

This might transform if "a form of contrition emerges and a disassociation with the former leader and the former hierarchy," he said.