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The country's previous leader has been given a death sentence for atrocities over her harsh response on protests led by students which caused her removal from power.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of permitting fatal actions to be used against protesters, with approximately 1,400 individuals lost their lives during the disturbances during 2024.

Hasina was tried without her presence by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being behind numerous deaths during the protests. The former leader rejected the entire case, calling the trial as "unfair and agenda-driven".

This judgment represents a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over long-standing suppression. Relatives of the deceased and wounded had called for severe punishments.

Responding to the decision in a comprehensive declaration, Hasina said the capital punishment was the temporary leadership's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was content of her administration's performance on individual freedoms.

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

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under enhanced protection before the decision on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics organizing a demonstration and applauding as the judgment was announced.

Dhaka experienced a sudden increase in unrest, with numerous incendiary devices set off and buses set on fire in the days leading up to the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, regional security representative the authorities' representative stated to media outlets.

The student-led uprising during 2024 began with requests to remove state employment quotas but transformed into a broader opposition campaign.

International human rights monitors declared in an analysis in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could represent "human rights atrocities".

The paper detailed the gunfire from minimal distance of certain demonstrators, the purposeful disabling of additional individuals, unwarranted detentions and abuse.

Unauthorized recordings of a telephone conversation involving Hasina verified by investigative sources earlier this year suggested she had sanctioned the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the proceedings.

Prior to the ruling, relatives of those fatally injured in the unrest stated to media representatives they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

A family representative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for the former leader and associates who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and exploited their positions".

A different family member, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "implemented before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the families of those killed [in the protests] will achieve closure in their hearts."

Following her removal, an interim government under the guidance of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A national vote is set for February 2026.

However, the Hasina's political party, the former ruling party, was prohibited by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

The former leader cautioned in the previous month that if the party's candidates were prohibited from running in the imminent electoral process, millions would boycott the ballot.

The judgment creates a foreign relations issue for both nations. The Bangladesh government has asked her extradition but until now India has expressed no readiness to agree.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "unhappy and desiring the outcome had varied".

"I am unable to challenge because my represented individuals are away; which is why I am disappointed," he added.

Recently, the defense attorneys said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN raising significant due process and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina alongside her former home minister and police chief.

While the sentence provides certain resolution to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the state's ideological splits.

"The fury directed at the former leader and the Awami League has not decreased," a human rights advocate from the capital stated to news organizations. "The leader and her faction has said sorry or shown any remorse for the killings of hundreds of people."

She said "It makes it difficult for the organization to receive endorsement by a bulk of the population in this state."

The activist added that the punishment was not resolution for the kin of those killed and injured.

"We support multiple individuals who lost their limbs forever, they are now disabled, because of the suppression. They are incapable of excusing her."

David Bergman, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation 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 "there is some kind of apology and a disassociation with Sheikh Hasina and the previous administration," he stated.