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The country's previous leader has been given a death sentence for human rights violations due to her severe measures on protests led by students which led to her forced departure.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of allowing lethal force to be used against activists, among whom around 1,400 people lost their lives during the unrest in the previous year.

Legal proceedings were conducted while she was absent by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being responsible for numerous deaths during the protests. She has refuted the entire case, describing the process as "biased and politically motivated".

This judgment represents a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over long-standing suppression. Relatives of the deceased and harmed had called for strict sentences.

Answering the judgment in a comprehensive declaration, she expressed the death penalty was the caretaker administration's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a governing body and that she was proud of her government's record on human rights.

"I do not fear to confront those accusing me in a just legal forum where the evidence can be weighed and tested fairly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under increased safeguards prior to the decision on Monday, with several of her detractors holding a protest and celebrating as the judgment was announced.

Dhaka experienced a notable rise in turmoil, with numerous incendiary devices set off and coaches ignited in the period preceding the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, local police official Jisanul Haque stated to media outlets.

The student-led uprising last year commenced through calls to eliminate state employment quotas but evolved into a more extensive dissent initiative.

United Nations rights examiners said in a report in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could represent "human rights atrocities".

The study recorded the firing at close quarters of certain demonstrators, the deliberate maiming of further participants, unjustified apprehensions and mistreatment.

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader authenticated by external reviews earlier this year indicated she had authorized the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the legal process.

Before the decision, relatives of those who died in the demonstrations stated to news agencies they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

One relative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for Hasina and others who have "performed revengeful deeds and exploited their positions".

Lucky Akther, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "executed before the election".

"Only then the families of those killed [in the protests] will achieve closure in their minds."

Following her removal, an interim government under the guidance of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A general election is planned for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the her former political organization, Hasina's political party, was outlawed by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

The former leader cautioned in the previous month that if the the League's representatives were prohibited from running in the forthcoming vote, numerous would avoid the election.

The verdict now poses a diplomatic challenge for the neighboring countries. Dhaka has formally requested her return but until now India has shown no willingness to comply.

Her officially designated attorney the defense lawyer said he was "sad [and wishes] the outcome had varied".

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

The previous week, the defense attorneys said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN highlighting serious fair trial and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina alongside her ex-interior minister and security forces head.

Although the punishment offers some closure to kin of victims in the protests, it may not significantly ease the nation's partisan rifts.

"The resentment towards Sheikh Hasina and the her political party has not decreased," a human rights advocate from the capital stated to news organizations. "Neither she nor the party has said sorry or displayed repentance for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The activist stated "It makes it difficult for the faction to gain approval by a bulk of the population in this nation."

The activist added that the sentence was not closure for the relatives of those killed and injured.

"We work with multiple individuals who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are currently without limbs, due to the crackdown. They will never be able to forgive her."

An analyst, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, 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 could alter if "an expression of regret occurs and a distancing from Sheikh Hasina and the old leadership," he said.