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The country's previous leader has been given a death sentence for atrocities over her harsh response on protests led by students which led to her ousting.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of permitting fatal actions to be used against demonstrators, among whom around 1,400 people were killed during the unrest during 2024.

The trial proceeded without her presence by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being the mastermind of numerous deaths during the protests. The former leader rejected every accusation, calling the trial as "biased and politically motivated".

The decision signifies a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over long-standing suppression. Families of those killed and harmed had demanded tough penalties.

Answering the judgment in a comprehensive declaration, she expressed the execution sentence was the caretaker administration's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a political force and that she was content of her government's record on individual freedoms.

"I am not afraid to confront those accusing me in a just legal forum where the proof can be evaluated and examined justly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under enhanced protection before the decision on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics organizing a demonstration and celebrating as the verdict was read.

The capital witnessed a sudden increase in disturbances, with numerous incendiary devices set off and public transport vehicles burned in the period preceding the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, area law enforcement officer Jisanul Haque stated to press agencies.

The protest movement led by students last year started with calls to eliminate public sector reservation policies but morphed into a broader opposition campaign.

UN human rights investigators declared in an analysis in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could amount to "human rights atrocities".

The report documented the firing at close quarters of certain demonstrators, the deliberate maiming of additional individuals, unwarranted detentions and abuse.

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader verified by media examinations in previous months implied she had approved the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the trial.

Before the decision, family members of those killed during the protests told media representatives they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

One relative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for Hasina and others who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and misused their authority".

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

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

Following her removal, an interim government headed by economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A parliamentary election is scheduled for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the her former political organization, Hasina's political party, was outlawed by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

The former leader cautioned last month that if the the League's representatives were prohibited from running in the imminent electoral process, numerous would avoid the election.

The verdict now poses a international dilemma for the neighboring countries. Dhaka has formally requested her extradition but until now India has shown no willingness to acquiesce.

The legal representative assigned to her her legal counsel said he was "disappointed and hoping the verdict had been different".

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

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

Hasina was tried in conjunction with her ex-interior minister and security forces head.

Although the punishment provides certain resolution to families of killed in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the nation's partisan rifts.

"The resentment towards Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League has not decreased," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka stated to news organizations. "The leader and her faction has apologised or displayed repentance for the deaths of numerous individuals."

She said "It makes it difficult for the faction to gain approval by a most citizens in this nation."

The campaigner further stated that the punishment was not finality for the kin of those who died and were wounded.

"We work with several people who lost their limbs forever, they are currently without limbs, due to the crackdown. They cannot pardon her."

A journalist, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it even more difficult" for the political faction to become a standard element of the country's governance system again.

This may change if "a form of contrition emerges and a separation from Sheikh Hasina and the previous administration," he said.