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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 resulted in her forced departure.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of authorizing deadly measures to be used against protesters, 1,400 of whom died during the disturbances last year.

The trial proceeded while she was absent by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being behind numerous deaths during the protests. The former leader rejected every accusation, calling the trial as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The decision signifies a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over extended periods of oppression. Families of those killed and injured had called for severe punishments.

Answering the judgment in a five-page statement, Hasina said the execution sentence was the temporary leadership's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a political force and that she was proud of her leadership's history on human rights.

"I have no trepidation to face my accusers in a proper tribunal where the facts can be assessed and examined justly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under increased safeguards before the verdict on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina staging a rally and cheering as the verdict was read.

Dhaka experienced a sudden increase in turmoil, with multiple explosives detonated and public transport vehicles burned in the time before the verdict.

One explosive incident was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, area law enforcement officer Jisanul Haque stated to media outlets.

The student-led uprising last year commenced through demands to abolish public sector reservation policies but transformed into a broader opposition campaign.

United Nations rights examiners stated in a document in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could represent "human rights atrocities".

The study recorded the firing at close quarters of certain demonstrators, the purposeful disabling of additional individuals, unjustified apprehensions and abuse.

Leaked audio of one of Hasina's phone calls authenticated by media examinations in previous months implied she had authorized the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the trial.

Before the decision, family members 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 Hasina and others who have "performed revengeful deeds and misused their authority".

Another relative, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "executed before the election".

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

Following her removal, an interim government headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A parliamentary election is planned for February 2026.

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

She alerted last month that if the her faction's nominees were prohibited from running in the upcoming election, countless would abstain the vote.

The judgment creates a foreign relations issue for India and Bangladesh. Dhaka has formally requested her return but until now India has shown no willingness to agree.

The legal representative assigned to her Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "unhappy and desiring the verdict had been different".

"I cannot even contest because my clients are absent; which is why I am disappointed," he stated further.

Recently, Hasina's lawyers said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN pointing out serious fair trial and due process issues at the ICT.

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

Although the punishment offers some closure to families of killed in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the country's political divisions.

"The anger against Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not diminished," a Dhaka-based rights activist informed news organizations. "Neither she nor the party has said sorry or demonstrated contrition for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The activist stated "It makes it difficult for the organization to receive endorsement by a most citizens in this state."

The campaigner further stated that the sentence was not finality for the kin of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We work with multiple individuals who lost their limbs forever, they are amputees now, as a result of the harsh measures. They will never be able to forgive her."

An analyst, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a regular participant of the country's governance system again.

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