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The country's previous leader has been given a death sentence for human rights violations due to her crackdown on protests led by students which resulted in her ousting.

Hasina was declared culpable of permitting fatal actions to be used against protesters, 1,400 of whom died during the turmoil during 2024.

Legal proceedings were conducted while she was absent by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being the mastermind of hundreds of killings during the protests. Hasina has denied every accusation, calling the trial as "unfair and agenda-driven".

This judgment represents a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over extended periods of oppression. Next of kin of victims and harmed had called for tough penalties.

Reacting to the verdict in a five-page statement, Hasina said the capital punishment was the caretaker administration's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a political force and that she was proud of her government's record on individual freedoms.

"I am not afraid to meet my challengers in a proper tribunal where the facts can be assessed and reviewed impartially."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under increased safeguards prior to the ruling on Monday, with several of her detractors staging a rally and celebrating as the verdict was read.

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

A minimum of one detonation was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, local police official Jisanul Haque told media outlets.

The youth-driven revolt last year started with calls to eliminate public sector reservation policies but morphed into a broader opposition campaign.

United Nations rights examiners stated in a document in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could amount to "violations of human dignity".

The paper detailed the firing at close quarters of certain demonstrators, the deliberate maiming of additional individuals, arbitrary arrests and mistreatment.

Disclosed sound files of a call made by the former leader verified by external reviews in previous months suggested she had sanctioned the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the proceedings.

Ahead of the verdict, kin of those fatally injured in the unrest informed media representatives they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

Ramjan Ali, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for the former leader and associates who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and abused their power".

A different family member, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "implemented before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will obtain solace in their hearts."

After her departure, an interim government under the guidance of economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A general election is set for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the Awami League, Hasina's political party, was banned by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

The former leader cautioned during the past month that if the party's candidates were banned from standing in the upcoming election, numerous would avoid the election.

This decision presents a foreign relations issue for India and Bangladesh. Authorities have sought her return but until now India has shown no willingness to acquiesce.

The legal representative assigned to her the defense lawyer said he was "disappointed and hoping the decision had been otherwise".

"I cannot even contest because my represented individuals are away; that's why I am disheartened," he added.

The previous week, her legal team said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN raising serious fair trial and judicial process problems at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial alongside her previous domestic affairs official and police chief.

Even though the verdict provides certain resolution to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may do little to soothe the state's ideological splits.

"The fury directed at Sheikh Hasina and the her political party has not decreased," a human rights advocate from the capital informed media outlets. "The leader and her faction has apologised or demonstrated contrition for the deaths of numerous individuals."

She said "This creates challenges for the party to be accepted by a most citizens in this country."

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

"We work with numerous persons who lost their limbs forever, they are now disabled, because of the suppression. They will never be able to forgive her."

A journalist, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it even more difficult" for her party to become a regular participant of the nation's political landscape again.

This could alter if "an expression of regret occurs and a separation from the former leader and the old leadership," he said.