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The country's previous leader has been given a death sentence for crimes against humanity stemming from her crackdown on protests led by students which resulted in her forced departure.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of permitting fatal actions to be used against activists, 1,400 of whom died during the disturbances last year.

Legal proceedings were conducted in absentia by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being the mastermind of hundreds of killings during the protests. She has refuted every accusation, labeling the proceedings as "biased and politically motivated".

The verdict marks a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over extended periods of oppression. Families of those killed and wounded had called for severe punishments.

Responding to the decision in a comprehensive declaration, she expressed the execution sentence was the caretaker administration's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a electoral entity and that she was content of her leadership's history on human rights.

"I do not fear to meet my challengers in a proper tribunal where the evidence can be weighed and examined justly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under tightened security ahead of the decision on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics holding a protest and celebrating as the verdict was read.

Dhaka experienced a sudden increase in disturbances, with numerous incendiary devices set off and public transport vehicles burned in the days leading up to the verdict.

One explosive incident was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, regional security representative Jisanul Haque told press agencies.

The protest movement led by students last year started with calls to eliminate government job quotas but transformed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

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 shooting at point-blank range of a number of activists, the intentional injuring of others, arbitrary arrests and mistreatment.

Leaked audio of a call made by the former leader confirmed by investigative sources earlier this year indicated she had sanctioned the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the legal process.

Before the decision, family members of those who died in the demonstrations informed media representatives they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

Ramjan Ali, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for the former leader and associates who have "performed revengeful deeds and misused their authority".

Lucky Akther, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "carried out before the election".

"Only then the kin of victims [in the protests] will achieve closure in their minds."

Following her removal, an interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A parliamentary election is scheduled for February 2026.

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

She alerted during the past month that if the party's candidates were banned from standing in the imminent electoral process, millions would boycott the ballot.

The judgment creates a diplomatic challenge for India and Bangladesh. The Bangladesh government has asked her repatriation but until now India has shown no willingness to comply.

Her officially designated attorney Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "disappointed and hoping the verdict had been different".

"I am unable to challenge because my defendants are not present; for that reason I am disheartened," he continued.

The previous week, the defense attorneys said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN pointing out major judicial fairness and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Hasina was tried alongside her former home minister and security forces head.

While the sentence provides certain resolution to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the country's political divisions.

"The fury directed at Hasina and the Awami League has not diminished," a human rights advocate from the capital told media outlets. "The leader and her faction has said sorry or displayed repentance for the killings of hundreds of people."

She said "This complicates matters for the faction to gain approval by a majority of people in this nation."

The advocate continued that the penalty was not resolution for the families of those who died and were wounded.

"We work with numerous persons who lost their limbs forever, they are now disabled, due to the crackdown. They cannot pardon 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 standard element of Bangladeshi politics again.

This may change if "a form of contrition emerges and a separation from the former leader and the previous administration," he stated.