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The country's previous leader has been sentenced to death for atrocities stemming from her severe measures on youth demonstrations which caused her removal from power.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of permitting fatal actions to be used against activists, among whom around 1,400 people lost their lives during the disturbances last year.

The trial proceeded while she was absent by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being behind hundreds of killings during the protests. She has refuted every accusation, describing the process as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The verdict marks a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over long-standing suppression. Next of kin of victims 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 "eliminating her political faction" as a governing body and that she was content of her administration's performance on human rights.

"I do not fear to meet my challengers in a fair court where the proof can be evaluated and tested fairly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under enhanced protection ahead of the decision on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina staging a rally and applauding as the verdict was read.

Dhaka experienced a sudden increase in turmoil, with multiple explosives detonated and buses set on fire in the period preceding the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, regional security representative the authorities' representative informed media outlets.

The student-led uprising in the previous year began with demands to abolish state employment quotas but evolved into a broader opposition campaign.

United Nations rights examiners said in a report in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could amount to "crimes against humanity".

The paper detailed the gunfire from minimal distance of some protesters, the deliberate maiming of additional individuals, unwarranted detentions and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader confirmed by media examinations in previous months suggested she had sanctioned the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the proceedings.

Prior to the ruling, family members of those who died in the demonstrations stated to news agencies they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

A family representative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for her and co-accused who have "committed acts of vengeance and abused their power".

Another relative, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "carried out before the election".

"Solely at that point the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will achieve closure in their souls."

Since Hasina's ousting, an caretaker administration headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A national vote is set for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the Awami League, the former ruling party, was outlawed by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

Hasina warned last month that if the party's candidates were barred from participating in the forthcoming vote, countless would abstain the election.

This decision presents a foreign relations issue for India and Bangladesh. Dhaka has formally requested her return but so far India has shown no willingness to acquiesce.

Her officially designated attorney Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "sad [and wishes] the decision had been otherwise".

"I am unable to challenge because my clients are absent; that's why I am disappointed," he stated further.

Last week, Hasina's lawyers said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN raising major judicial fairness and judicial process problems at the ICT.

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

While the sentence offers some closure to families of killed in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the country's political divisions.

"The resentment towards the former leader and the her political party has not decreased," a human rights advocate from the capital informed news organizations. "Neither she nor the party has said sorry or shown any remorse for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The activist stated "It makes it difficult for the faction to gain approval by a majority of people in this nation."

The campaigner further stated that the sentence was not finality for the kin of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We support several people who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are amputees now, due to the crackdown. They are incapable of excusing her."

A journalist, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it increasingly challenging" for the political faction to become a normal feature of the nation's political landscape again.

This could alter if "an expression of regret occurs and a separation from Hasina and the former hierarchy," he stated.