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The country's previous leader has been sentenced to death for atrocities over her severe measures on protests led by students which resulted in her forced departure.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of permitting fatal actions to be used against demonstrators, 1,400 of whom were killed during the unrest in the previous year.

Hasina was tried in absentia by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being behind hundreds of killings during the protests. Hasina has denied all charges, calling the trial as "unfair and agenda-driven".

This judgment represents a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over extended periods of oppression. Next of kin of victims and injured had demanded tough penalties.

Answering the judgment in a detailed document, Hasina said the execution sentence was the temporary leadership's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a political force and that she was satisfied of her government's record on individual freedoms.

"I am not afraid to face my accusers in a proper tribunal where the proof can be evaluated and tested fairly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under enhanced protection ahead of the ruling on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics holding a protest and applauding as the judgment was announced.

The capital witnessed a recent spike in disturbances, with dozens of bombs exploded and coaches ignited in the time before the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, area law enforcement officer the authorities' representative stated to news organizations.

The student-led uprising last year began with demands to abolish government job quotas but transformed into a wider anti-government movement.

International human rights monitors stated in a document in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could constitute "human rights atrocities".

The paper detailed the gunfire from minimal distance of a number of activists, the intentional injuring of further participants, unjustified apprehensions and mistreatment.

Disclosed sound files of a call made by the former leader confirmed by investigative sources earlier this year suggested she had sanctioned the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the proceedings.

Before the decision, kin of those who died in the demonstrations informed press outlets they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

One relative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for Hasina and others who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and misused their authority".

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

"Exclusively thereafter the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will achieve closure in their souls."

Since Hasina's ousting, an interim government headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A parliamentary election is planned for February 2026.

However, the her former political organization, her political faction, was banned by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

The former leader cautioned during the past month that if the the League's representatives were banned from standing in the upcoming election, countless would abstain the election.

The verdict now poses a international dilemma for India and Bangladesh. Dhaka has formally requested her extradition but to date India has demonstrated no inclination to acquiesce.

Her officially designated attorney Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "unhappy and desiring the decision had been otherwise".

"I am unable to challenge because my clients are absent; for that reason I am disheartened," he stated further.

Last week, her legal team said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN pointing out significant due process and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina together with her former home minister and top law enforcement officer.

Although the punishment provides certain resolution to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the country's political divisions.

"The resentment towards Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League has not diminished," a human rights advocate from the capital stated to press agencies. "The leader and her faction has expressed regret or demonstrated contrition for the fatalities of countless citizens."

She said "It makes it difficult for the party to be accepted by a most citizens in this country."

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

"We work with numerous persons who suffered permanent amputations, they are amputees now, as a result of the harsh measures. They are incapable of excusing her."

David Bergman, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it even more difficult" for her party to become a standard element of the country's governance system again.

This might transform if "an expression of regret occurs and a disassociation with the former leader and the old leadership," he said.