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The country's previous leader has been sentenced to death for human rights violations over her crackdown on youth demonstrations which caused her forced departure.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of permitting fatal actions to be used against activists, with approximately 1,400 individuals died during the turmoil last year.

Hasina was tried in absentia by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile 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, calling the trial as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

This judgment represents a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over years of repression. Next of kin of victims and harmed had demanded severe punishments.

Answering the judgment in a detailed document, Hasina said the execution sentence was the caretaker administration'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 am not afraid to meet my challengers in a fair court where the evidence can be weighed and tested fairly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under tightened security prior to the decision on Monday, with several of her detractors holding a protest and applauding as the verdict was read.

Dhaka experienced a sudden increase in unrest, with multiple explosives detonated and buses set on fire in the days leading up to the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, area law enforcement officer Jisanul Haque informed news organizations.

The protest movement led by students last year started with requests to remove government job quotas but morphed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

UN human rights investigators declared in an analysis in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could amount to "crimes against humanity".

The report documented the shooting at point-blank range of certain demonstrators, the intentional injuring of further participants, arbitrary arrests and torture.

Leaked audio of a call made by the former leader authenticated by media examinations during the current year implied she had sanctioned the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the proceedings.

Prior to the ruling, relatives of those fatally injured in the unrest informed press outlets they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

A family representative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for her and co-accused who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and abused their power".

Lucky Akther, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "implemented before the election".

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

Since Hasina's ousting, an caretaker administration headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A general election is planned for February 2026.

However, the Awami League, her political faction, was banned by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

She alerted during the past month that if the party's candidates were prohibited from running in the imminent electoral process, numerous would avoid the election.

This decision presents a international dilemma for both nations. Authorities have sought her return but so far India has shown no willingness to acquiesce.

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

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

Last week, Hasina's lawyers said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN highlighting significant due process and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Hasina was tried together with her ex-interior minister and police chief.

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

"The resentment towards Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not diminished," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka informed news organizations. "Neither she nor the party has expressed regret or demonstrated contrition for the deaths of numerous individuals."

She said "This creates challenges for the organization to receive endorsement by a majority of people in this state."

The advocate continued that the sentence was not resolution for the kin of those killed and injured.

"We support several people who lost their limbs forever, they are amputees now, as a result of the harsh measures. They are incapable of excusing her."

David Bergman, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it particularly hard" for her party to become a normal feature of the country's governance system again.

This could alter if "a form of contrition emerges and a distancing from the former leader and the former hierarchy," he stated.