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

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of allowing lethal force to be used against protesters, with approximately 1,400 individuals were killed during the unrest in the previous year.

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

Prosecutors accused her of being the mastermind of numerous deaths during the protests. Hasina has denied the entire case, describing the process as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The decision signifies a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over extended periods of oppression. Families of those killed and wounded had called for tough penalties.

Reacting to the verdict in a five-page statement, the former leader stated the capital punishment was the interim government's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was content of her government's record on civil liberties.

"I am not afraid to meet my challengers in a just legal forum where the evidence can be weighed and tested fairly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under tightened security prior to the verdict on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics holding a protest and celebrating as the verdict was read.

The capital witnessed a notable rise in disturbances, with dozens of bombs exploded and buses set on fire in the time before the verdict.

One explosive incident was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, local police official Jisanul Haque told press agencies.

The protest movement led by students during 2024 began with calls to eliminate state employment quotas but morphed into a broader opposition campaign.

UN human rights investigators stated in a document in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could amount to "human rights atrocities".

The report documented the shooting at point-blank range of some protesters, the purposeful disabling of additional individuals, arbitrary arrests and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader verified by external reviews earlier this year indicated she had sanctioned the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the trial.

Prior to the ruling, family members of those fatally injured in the unrest stated to press outlets they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

A family representative, 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 abused their power".

A different family member, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "carried out before the election".

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

After her departure, an temporary leadership led by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A parliamentary election is scheduled for February 2026.

However, the Awami League, Hasina's political party, was outlawed by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

She alerted in the previous month that if the party's candidates were barred from participating in the forthcoming vote, millions would boycott the ballot.

The verdict now poses a diplomatic challenge for the neighboring countries. Dhaka has formally requested her return but to date India has expressed no readiness to agree.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "disappointed and hoping the decision had been otherwise".

"I even cannot appeal because my clients are absent; for that reason I am disheartened," he continued.

The previous week, her legal team said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN pointing out significant due process and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Hasina was tried together with her former home minister and top law enforcement officer.

Although the punishment offers some closure to families of killed in the protests, it may not significantly ease the state's ideological splits.

"The fury directed at the former leader and the the former ruling faction has not subsided," a human rights advocate from the capital informed news organizations. "Neither she nor the party has expressed regret or displayed repentance for the fatalities of countless citizens."

She said "This complicates matters for the faction to gain approval by a majority of people in this country."

The advocate continued that the punishment was not resolution for the families of those killed and injured.

"We work with numerous persons who suffered permanent amputations, they are amputees now, because of the suppression. They cannot pardon her."

An analyst, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it even more difficult" for the political faction to become a regular participant of the nation's political landscape again.

This might transform if "a form of contrition emerges and a distancing from Hasina and the former hierarchy," he said.