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The country's previous leader has been given a death sentence for human rights violations stemming from her harsh response on protests led by students which led to her forced departure.

Hasina was declared culpable of allowing lethal force to be used against demonstrators, 1,400 of whom lost their lives during the turmoil in the previous year.

The trial proceeded without her presence by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being responsible for hundreds of killings during the protests. The former leader rejected the entire case, calling the trial as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The verdict marks a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over long-standing suppression. Next of kin of victims and harmed had called for severe punishments.

Reacting to the verdict in a detailed document, she expressed the execution sentence was the interim government's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a political force and that she was proud of her government's record on human rights.

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

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under enhanced protection prior to the verdict on Monday, with several of her detractors holding a protest and applauding as the judgment was announced.

The city has seen a sudden increase in disturbances, with dozens of bombs exploded and public transport vehicles burned in the time before the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, area law enforcement officer the police spokesperson told media outlets.

The protest movement led by students in the previous year began with calls to eliminate state employment quotas but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.

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 gunfire from minimal distance of a number of activists, the purposeful disabling of further participants, unwarranted detentions and torture.

Disclosed sound files of a call made by the former leader authenticated by media examinations in previous months implied she had approved the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the proceedings.

Before the decision, family members of those who died in the demonstrations informed media representatives they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

A family representative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for Hasina and others who have "committed acts of vengeance and misused their authority".

Another relative, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "executed before the election".

"Only then the kin of victims [in the protests] will find peace in their souls."

After her departure, an temporary leadership headed by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A general election is scheduled for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the Hasina's political party, the former ruling party, was banned by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

Hasina warned in the previous month that if the party's candidates were barred from participating in the forthcoming vote, numerous would avoid the ballot.

This decision presents a foreign relations issue for the neighboring countries. Dhaka has formally requested her repatriation but until now India has demonstrated no inclination to comply.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer Mohammad Amir Hossain 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 stated further.

The previous week, her legal team said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN highlighting significant due process and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial together with her former home minister and top law enforcement officer.

While the sentence grants partial finality to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may do little to soothe the country's political divisions.

"The anger against the former leader and the her political party has not subsided," a Dhaka-based rights activist told press agencies. "The leader and her faction has said sorry or demonstrated contrition for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The advocate declared "It makes it difficult for the faction to gain approval by a bulk of the population in this country."

The advocate continued that the punishment was not resolution for the relatives of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We support numerous persons who lost their limbs forever, they are amputees now, as a result of the harsh measures. 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 standard element of the nation's political landscape again.

This might transform if "an expression of regret occurs and a distancing from Hasina and the old leadership," he said.