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The country's previous leader has been given a death sentence for atrocities stemming from her harsh response on student-led protests which led to her forced departure.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of permitting fatal actions to be used against demonstrators, with approximately 1,400 individuals died during the disturbances in the previous year.

Hasina was tried in absentia by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being responsible for hundreds of killings during the protests. She has refuted the entire case, labeling the proceedings as "biased and politically motivated".

This judgment represents a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over extended periods of oppression. Families of those killed and wounded had demanded tough penalties.

Reacting to the verdict in a comprehensive declaration, she expressed the death penalty was the interim government's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a governing body 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 facts can be assessed and examined justly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under tightened security ahead of the decision on Monday, with several of her detractors holding a protest and celebrating as the sentence was declared.

The capital witnessed a recent spike in turmoil, with numerous incendiary devices set off and coaches ignited in the time before the verdict.

One explosive incident was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, regional security representative Jisanul Haque informed news organizations.

The student-led uprising last year commenced through requests to remove government job quotas but morphed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

International human rights monitors declared in an analysis in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could represent "violations of human dignity".

The study recorded the shooting at point-blank range of a number of activists, the deliberate maiming of others, arbitrary arrests and torture.

Disclosed sound files of one of Hasina's phone calls confirmed by investigative sources earlier this year implied she had approved 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 told news agencies they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

One relative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for the former leader and associates who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and abused their power".

Another relative, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "implemented before the election".

"Only then the kin of victims [in the protests] will find peace in their hearts."

After her departure, an temporary leadership headed by economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A national vote is scheduled for February 2026.

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

She alerted during the past month that if the party's candidates were barred from participating in the upcoming election, millions would boycott the election.

The verdict now poses a diplomatic challenge for the neighboring countries. Authorities have sought her return but until now India has demonstrated no inclination to comply.

Her officially designated attorney Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "unhappy and desiring the outcome had varied".

"I even cannot appeal because my represented individuals are away; which is why I am disheartened," he added.

Recently, her legal team said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN raising major judicial fairness and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina alongside her ex-interior minister and top law enforcement officer.

While the sentence offers some closure to kin of victims in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the nation's partisan rifts.

"The resentment towards Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not diminished," a Dhaka-based rights activist informed press agencies. "Neither she nor the party has apologised or shown any remorse for the fatalities of countless citizens."

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

The activist added that the punishment was not finality for the relatives of those killed and injured.

"We work with several people who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are now disabled, because of the suppression. They will never be able to forgive her."

A journalist, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it increasingly challenging" for her party to become a standard element of Bangladeshi politics again.

This could alter if "an expression of regret occurs and a distancing from Sheikh Hasina and the old leadership," he said.