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The country's previous leader has been sentenced to death for human rights violations over her harsh response on protests led by students which resulted in her removal from power.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of allowing lethal force to be used against activists, with approximately 1,400 individuals were killed during the disturbances last year.

The trial proceeded in absentia by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being the mastermind of hundreds of killings during the protests. The former leader rejected every accusation, labeling the proceedings as "unfair and agenda-driven".

This judgment represents a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over years of repression. Next of kin of victims and injured had called for tough penalties.

Responding to the decision in a comprehensive declaration, the former leader stated the death penalty was the interim government's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a political force and that she was satisfied of her leadership's history on human rights.

"I am not afraid to face my accusers in a just legal forum where the facts can be assessed and reviewed impartially."

The capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under tightened security prior to the ruling on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina holding a protest and celebrating as the sentence was declared.

The city has seen a sudden increase in disturbances, with numerous incendiary devices set off and buses set on fire in the days leading up to the verdict.

One explosive incident was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, regional security representative the police spokesperson informed media outlets.

The protest movement led by students in the previous year began with demands to abolish government job quotas but morphed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

International human rights monitors said in a report in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could amount to "human rights atrocities".

The paper detailed the shooting at point-blank range of a number of activists, the intentional injuring of additional individuals, arbitrary arrests and abuse.

Disclosed sound files of a call made by the former leader confirmed by external reviews in previous months indicated she had approved the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the proceedings.

Ahead of the verdict, kin of those who died in the demonstrations informed media representatives they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

A family representative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for the former leader and associates who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and exploited their positions".

Another relative, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "carried out before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the kin of victims [in the protests] will achieve closure in their minds."

Following her removal, an caretaker administration led by economic expert 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 caretaker administration in May.

Hasina warned last month that if the the League's representatives were barred from participating in the upcoming election, countless would abstain the vote.

The judgment creates a international dilemma for the neighboring countries. Authorities have sought her extradition but until now India has expressed no readiness to comply.

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

"I am unable to challenge because my defendants are not present; which is why I am disheartened," he stated further.

Last week, her legal team said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN raising major judicial fairness and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Hasina was tried in conjunction with her previous domestic affairs official and security forces head.

Even though the verdict provides certain resolution to kin of victims in the protests, it may not significantly ease the state's ideological splits.

"The resentment towards the former leader and the the former ruling faction has not decreased," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka stated to press agencies. "The leader and her faction has said sorry or displayed repentance for the fatalities of countless citizens."

She said "This creates challenges for the party to be accepted by a most citizens in this country."

The activist added that the punishment was not resolution for the families of those who died and were wounded.

"We assist numerous persons who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are now disabled, because of the suppression. They cannot pardon her."

An analyst, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it increasingly challenging" for Awami League to become a regular participant of Bangladeshi politics again.

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