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The country's previous leader has been given a death sentence for atrocities due to her severe measures on student-led protests which caused her ousting.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of authorizing deadly measures to be used against protesters, among whom around 1,400 people were killed during the turmoil in the previous year.

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

Prosecutors accused her of being the mastermind of multiple fatalities during the protests. She has refuted all charges, describing the process as "biased and politically motivated".

The verdict marks a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over extended periods of oppression. Families of those killed and wounded had called for strict sentences.

Answering the judgment in a detailed document, she expressed the execution sentence was the interim government's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was content of her administration's performance on civil liberties.

"I do not fear to face my accusers in a just legal forum where the evidence can be weighed and tested fairly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under increased safeguards prior to the decision on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics organizing a demonstration and cheering as the verdict was read.

The city has seen a sudden increase in unrest, with numerous incendiary devices set off and buses set on fire in the time before the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, regional security representative the police spokesperson informed media outlets.

The student-led uprising last year began with calls to eliminate government job quotas but transformed into a wider anti-government movement.

UN human rights investigators said in a report in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could amount to "crimes against humanity".

The report documented the gunfire from minimal distance of a number of activists, the purposeful disabling of others, unwarranted detentions and torture.

Leaked audio of a call made by the former leader authenticated by investigative sources during the current year suggested she had authorized the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the proceedings.

Ahead of the verdict, kin of those who died in the demonstrations told press outlets they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

Ramjan Ali, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for her and co-accused 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 the former leader's punishment to be "executed before the election".

"Solely at that point the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will achieve closure in their souls."

After her departure, an interim government led by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A parliamentary election is set for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the Awami League, Hasina's political party, was banned by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

The former leader cautioned last month that if the party's candidates were barred from participating in the imminent electoral process, numerous would avoid the ballot.

This decision presents a foreign relations issue for both nations. Dhaka has formally requested her extradition but until now India has demonstrated no inclination to acquiesce.

Her officially designated attorney Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "unhappy and desiring the decision had been otherwise".

"I even cannot appeal because my clients are absent; that's why I am disheartened," he added.

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

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

Even though the verdict provides certain resolution to families of killed in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the nation's partisan rifts.

"The fury directed at Sheikh Hasina and the her political party has not subsided," a human rights advocate from the capital told news organizations. "The leader and her faction has apologised or demonstrated contrition for the killings of hundreds of people."

The activist stated "It makes it difficult for the party to be accepted by a bulk of the population in this country."

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 suffered permanent amputations, they are now disabled, as a result of the harsh measures. They cannot pardon her."

David Bergman, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a standard element of the nation's political landscape again.

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