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The country's previous leader has been given a death sentence for atrocities due to her severe measures on youth demonstrations which resulted in her removal from power.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of permitting fatal actions to be used against activists, with approximately 1,400 individuals were killed during the disturbances during 2024.

Legal proceedings were conducted without her presence by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being behind numerous deaths during the protests. Hasina has denied the entire case, calling the trial as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

This judgment represents a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over years of repression. Next of kin of victims and injured had called for tough penalties.

Reacting to the verdict in a detailed document, the former leader stated the capital punishment was the interim government's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a governing body and that she was satisfied of her leadership's history on civil liberties.

"I have no trepidation to meet my challengers in a proper tribunal where the facts can be assessed and tested fairly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under tightened security ahead of the verdict on Monday, with several of her detractors staging a rally and cheering as the judgment was announced.

Dhaka experienced a sudden increase in disturbances, with numerous incendiary devices set off and buses set on fire in the period preceding the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, regional security representative the police spokesperson stated to press agencies.

The student-led uprising during 2024 began with demands to abolish state employment quotas but morphed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

International human rights monitors said in a report in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could constitute "violations of human dignity".

The study recorded the shooting at point-blank range of a number of activists, the intentional injuring of others, unjustified apprehensions and mistreatment.

Leaked audio of one of Hasina's phone calls confirmed by investigative sources in previous months suggested she had authorized the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the legal process.

Prior to the ruling, relatives of those killed during the protests informed press outlets they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

A family representative, 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 partner was fatally injured 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 minds."

After her departure, an interim government headed by economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A parliamentary election is scheduled for February 2026.

However, the Awami League, the former ruling party, was prohibited by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

She alerted in the previous month that if the her faction's nominees were banned from standing in the forthcoming vote, millions would boycott the election.

The verdict now poses a international dilemma for India and Bangladesh. Authorities have sought her extradition but to date India has expressed no readiness to agree.

Her officially designated attorney the defense lawyer said he was "unhappy and desiring the verdict had been different".

"I even cannot appeal because my defendants are not present; for that reason I am disappointed," he stated further.

Last week, her legal team said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN raising serious fair trial and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial in conjunction with her previous domestic affairs official and security forces head.

Although the punishment grants partial finality to families of killed in the protests, it may not significantly ease the country's political divisions.

"The anger against Sheikh Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not subsided," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka informed press agencies. "Both she and the organization has apologised or demonstrated contrition for the killings of hundreds of people."

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

The campaigner further stated that the penalty was not finality for the kin of those killed and injured.

"We support several people who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are amputees now, due to the crackdown. They will never be able to forgive her."

An analyst, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it even more difficult" for her party to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.

This may change if "an expression of regret occurs and a separation from Sheikh Hasina and the former hierarchy," he said.