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The country's previous leader has been given a death sentence for crimes against humanity stemming from her severe measures on protests led by students which caused her forced departure.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of allowing lethal force to be used against activists, 1,400 of whom lost their lives during the turmoil in the previous year.

Hasina was tried in absentia by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being behind multiple fatalities during the protests. The former leader rejected every accusation, describing the process as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The decision signifies a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over extended periods of oppression. Relatives of the deceased and injured had requested severe punishments.

Responding to the decision in a five-page statement, she expressed the death penalty was the temporary leadership's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a political force and that she was content of her leadership's history on civil liberties.

"I am not afraid to meet my challengers in a just legal forum where the facts can be assessed and examined justly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under tightened security before the decision on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics organizing a demonstration and applauding as the verdict was read.

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

A minimum of one detonation was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, area law enforcement officer Jisanul Haque told press agencies.

The protest movement led by students in the previous year commenced through requests to remove government job quotas but transformed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

International human rights monitors stated in a document in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could represent "crimes against humanity".

The report documented the gunfire from minimal distance of a number of activists, the purposeful disabling of additional individuals, arbitrary arrests and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader authenticated by media examinations in previous months suggested she had authorized the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the trial.

Prior to the ruling, relatives of those killed during the protests told press outlets they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

A family representative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for her and co-accused who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and abused their power".

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

"Solely at that point the families of those killed [in the protests] will achieve closure in their souls."

After her departure, an interim government led by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A general election is set for February 2026.

However, the Hasina's political party, Hasina's political party, was prohibited by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

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

The judgment creates a foreign relations issue for both nations. Authorities have sought her return but so far India has shown no willingness to comply.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer her legal counsel said he was "disappointed and hoping the verdict had been different".

"I am unable to challenge because my represented individuals are away; that's why I am disappointed," he added.

The previous week, her legal team said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN raising significant due process and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina in conjunction with her ex-interior minister and police chief.

While the sentence provides certain resolution to families of killed in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the country's political divisions.

"The anger against Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League has not decreased," a human rights advocate from the capital told news organizations. "Both she and the organization has expressed regret or demonstrated contrition for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The activist stated "This creates challenges for the organization to receive endorsement by a majority of people in this state."

The activist added that the penalty was not finality for the families of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We support several people who lost their limbs forever, they are now disabled, due to the crackdown. They are incapable of excusing her."

An analyst, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it increasingly challenging" for her party to become a regular participant of the country's governance system again.

This might transform if "an expression of regret occurs and a disassociation with Sheikh Hasina and the previous administration," he said.