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The country's previous leader has been given a death sentence for human rights violations over her harsh response on student-led protests which caused her removal from power.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of authorizing deadly measures to be used against demonstrators, among whom around 1,400 people were killed during the disturbances during 2024.

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

Legal authorities charged her of being behind multiple fatalities during the protests. The former leader rejected every accusation, calling the trial as "biased and politically motivated".

The decision signifies a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over years of repression. Relatives of the deceased and injured had called for tough penalties.

Responding to the decision in a detailed document, she expressed the execution sentence was the interim government's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was satisfied of her administration's performance on civil liberties.

"I do not fear to confront those accusing me in a fair court where the facts can be assessed and examined justly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under enhanced protection prior to the decision on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics staging a rally and celebrating as the sentence was declared.

Dhaka experienced a recent spike in unrest, with numerous incendiary devices set off and coaches ignited in the period preceding the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, local police official the police spokesperson informed news organizations.

The youth-driven revolt during 2024 began with requests to remove state employment quotas but morphed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

UN human rights investigators stated in a document in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could amount to "crimes against humanity".

The study recorded the firing at close quarters of some protesters, the intentional injuring of additional individuals, unjustified apprehensions and mistreatment.

Leaked audio of a telephone conversation involving Hasina confirmed by investigative sources during the current year implied she had approved the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the proceedings.

Prior to the ruling, family members of those killed during the protests informed media representatives 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 "committed acts of vengeance and misused their authority".

Lucky Akther, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "carried out before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the kin of victims [in the protests] will obtain solace in their hearts."

Since Hasina's ousting, an temporary leadership headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A national vote is planned for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the her former political organization, her political faction, was banned by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

She alerted last month that if the the League's representatives were barred from participating in the imminent electoral process, numerous would avoid the ballot.

The judgment creates a foreign relations issue for the neighboring countries. Authorities have sought her return but until now India has expressed no readiness to acquiesce.

The legal representative assigned to her the defense lawyer said he was "sad [and wishes] the verdict had been different".

"I am unable to challenge because my clients are absent; that's why I am sad," he continued.

The previous week, Hasina's lawyers said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN highlighting significant due process and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Hasina was tried together with her previous domestic affairs official and police chief.

Although the punishment offers some closure to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may do little to soothe the nation's partisan rifts.

"The anger against the former leader and the Awami League has not decreased," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka stated to media outlets. "Both she and the organization has expressed regret or displayed repentance for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The activist stated "This complicates matters for the faction to gain approval by a bulk of the population in this state."

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

"We work with numerous persons who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are now disabled, due to the crackdown. They will never be able to forgive her."

David Bergman, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a regular participant of the nation's political landscape again.

This might transform if "there is some kind of apology and a separation from Sheikh Hasina and the former hierarchy," he expressed.