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The country's previous leader has been sentenced to death for atrocities over her harsh response on student-led protests which caused her removal from power.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of authorizing deadly measures to be used against demonstrators, among whom around 1,400 people died during the unrest last year.

The trial proceeded in absentia by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being responsible for multiple fatalities during the protests. Hasina has denied all charges, labeling the proceedings as "biased and politically motivated".

This judgment represents a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over long-standing suppression. Next of kin of victims and wounded had demanded strict sentences.

Answering the judgment in a five-page statement, Hasina said the death penalty was the interim government's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a governing body and that she was proud of her administration's performance on civil liberties.

"I have no trepidation to face my accusers in a proper tribunal where the facts can be assessed and reviewed impartially."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under enhanced protection ahead of the ruling on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina staging a rally and applauding as the verdict was read.

Dhaka experienced a sudden increase in turmoil, with multiple explosives detonated and public transport vehicles burned in the days leading up to the verdict.

One explosive incident was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, area law enforcement officer the police spokesperson told press agencies.

The protest movement led by students in the previous year started with demands to abolish state employment quotas but morphed into a broader opposition campaign.

UN human rights investigators declared in an analysis in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could represent "crimes against humanity".

The report documented the shooting at point-blank range of certain demonstrators, the purposeful disabling of additional individuals, arbitrary arrests and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of one of Hasina's phone calls confirmed by external reviews earlier this year suggested she had sanctioned the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the trial.

Prior to the ruling, relatives of those killed during the protests told news agencies they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

One relative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for the former leader and associates who have "performed revengeful deeds and misused their authority".

A different family member, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "carried out before the election".

"Only then the families of those killed [in the protests] will obtain solace in their hearts."

Following her removal, an caretaker administration headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A general election is scheduled for February 2026.

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

The former leader cautioned during the past month that if the the League's representatives were banned from standing in the upcoming election, millions would boycott the vote.

The judgment creates a international dilemma for India and Bangladesh. The Bangladesh government has asked her extradition but so far India has expressed no readiness to comply.

Her officially designated attorney her legal counsel said he was "sad [and wishes] the outcome had varied".

"I cannot even contest because my represented individuals are away; for that reason I am disheartened," he added.

The previous week, Hasina's lawyers said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN highlighting significant due process and due process issues at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial in conjunction with her previous domestic affairs official and top law enforcement officer.

Even though the verdict provides certain resolution to families of killed in the protests, it may not significantly ease the country's political divisions.

"The anger against the former leader and the Awami League has not diminished," a Dhaka-based rights activist told media outlets. "Both she and the organization has expressed regret or shown any remorse for the killings of hundreds of people."

She said "This creates challenges for the organization to receive endorsement by a majority of people in this country."

The advocate continued that the sentence was not closure for the relatives of those who died and were wounded.

"We work with several people who lost their limbs forever, they are amputees now, as a result of the harsh measures. They will never be able to forgive her."

David Bergman, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.

This could alter if "a form of contrition emerges and a distancing from Hasina and the previous administration," he expressed.