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The country's previous leader has been given a death sentence for human rights violations due to her harsh response on student-led protests which caused her forced departure.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of authorizing deadly measures to be used against demonstrators, 1,400 of whom died during the turmoil during 2024.

Legal proceedings were conducted in absentia by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being the mastermind of numerous deaths during the protests. Hasina has denied every accusation, calling the trial as "biased and politically motivated".

The decision signifies a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over long-standing suppression. Relatives of the deceased and wounded had requested strict sentences.

Answering the judgment in a detailed document, the former leader stated the death penalty was the caretaker administration's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a governing body and that she was proud of her leadership's history on human rights.

"I am not afraid to meet my challengers in a proper tribunal where the proof can be evaluated and reviewed impartially."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under increased safeguards before the verdict on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics organizing a demonstration and cheering as the sentence was declared.

The capital witnessed a recent spike in turmoil, with numerous incendiary devices set off and buses set on fire in the days leading up to the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, local police official the authorities' representative told media outlets.

The youth-driven revolt during 2024 started with demands to abolish state employment quotas but morphed into a broader opposition campaign.

United Nations rights examiners stated in a document in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could represent "violations of human dignity".

The study recorded the firing at close quarters of certain demonstrators, the intentional injuring of additional individuals, arbitrary arrests and torture.

Leaked audio of a telephone conversation involving Hasina confirmed by external reviews earlier this year implied she had approved the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the proceedings.

Ahead of the verdict, family members of those who died in the demonstrations told press outlets they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

Ramjan Ali, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for the former leader and associates who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and misused their authority".

A different family member, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "executed before the election".

"Solely at that point the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will find peace in their minds."

After her departure, an caretaker administration under the guidance of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A national vote is set for February 2026.

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

The former leader cautioned in the previous month that if the the League's representatives were barred from participating in the forthcoming vote, countless would abstain the election.

The verdict now poses a international dilemma for both nations. The Bangladesh government has asked her repatriation but to date India has demonstrated no inclination to acquiesce.

Her officially designated attorney the defense lawyer said he was "disappointed and hoping the decision had been otherwise".

"I even cannot appeal because my represented individuals are away; for that reason I am disheartened," he added.

The previous week, the defense attorneys said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN pointing out significant due process and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial alongside her previous domestic affairs official and top law enforcement officer.

Although the punishment grants partial finality to kin of victims in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the country's political divisions.

"The resentment towards Sheikh Hasina and the her political party has not diminished," a Dhaka-based rights activist stated to media outlets. "The leader and her faction has said sorry or displayed repentance for the killings of hundreds of people."

The advocate declared "This complicates matters for the organization to receive endorsement by a most citizens in this country."

The advocate continued that the penalty was not finality for the relatives of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We assist 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 "very nature of the conviction could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.

This may change if "an expression of regret occurs and a distancing from Sheikh Hasina and the previous administration," he expressed.