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The country's previous leader has been given a death sentence for human rights violations over her crackdown on protests led by students which caused her removal from power.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of permitting fatal actions to be used against activists, with approximately 1,400 individuals died during the unrest last year.

Hasina was tried in absentia by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being behind multiple fatalities during the protests. She has refuted all charges, calling the trial as "biased and politically motivated".

The verdict marks a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over extended periods of oppression. Relatives of the deceased and harmed had demanded tough penalties.

Responding to the decision in a five-page statement, the former leader stated the death penalty was the interim government's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a political force and that she was content of her leadership's history on human rights.

"I am not afraid to meet my challengers in a proper tribunal where the facts can be assessed and tested fairly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under increased safeguards ahead of the verdict on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics organizing a demonstration and applauding as the sentence was declared.

The capital witnessed a notable rise in unrest, with dozens of bombs exploded and buses set on fire in the days leading up to the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, local police official Jisanul Haque told media outlets.

The student-led uprising last year commenced through calls to eliminate government job quotas but evolved into a broader opposition campaign.

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

The paper detailed the shooting at point-blank range of a number of activists, the deliberate maiming of further participants, arbitrary arrests and abuse.

Leaked audio of a telephone conversation involving Hasina confirmed by external reviews during the current year implied she had sanctioned the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the legal process.

Prior to the ruling, family members of those who died in the demonstrations told press outlets they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

One relative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for the former leader and associates who have "performed revengeful deeds and abused their power".

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

"Only then the kin of victims [in the protests] will achieve closure in their minds."

Since Hasina's ousting, an caretaker administration under the guidance of economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A general election is planned for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the her former political organization, Hasina's political party, was prohibited by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

Hasina warned in the previous month that if the party's candidates were banned from standing in the forthcoming vote, countless would abstain the ballot.

This decision presents a international dilemma for the neighboring countries. The Bangladesh government has asked her extradition but until now India has demonstrated no inclination to agree.

Her officially designated attorney the defense lawyer said he was "unhappy and desiring the outcome had varied".

"I cannot even contest because my represented individuals are away; which is why I am sad," he continued.

Last week, Hasina's lawyers said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN raising major judicial fairness and judicial process problems at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial together with her former home minister and police chief.

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

"The fury directed at Sheikh Hasina and the her political party has not decreased," a human rights advocate from the capital stated to media outlets. "Both she and the organization has apologised or displayed repentance for the deaths of numerous individuals."

She said "It makes it difficult for the party to be accepted by a majority of people in this country."

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

"We support multiple individuals who suffered permanent amputations, they are amputees now, as a result of the harsh measures. They cannot pardon her."

A journalist, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it increasingly challenging" for her party to become a normal feature of the nation's political landscape again.

This might transform if "there is some kind of apology and a distancing from Hasina and the old leadership," he stated.