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The country's previous leader has been sentenced to death for atrocities due to her crackdown on student-led protests which led to her forced departure.

Hasina was declared culpable of permitting fatal actions to be used against protesters, among whom around 1,400 people were killed during the turmoil last year.

Hasina was tried in absentia by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being behind numerous deaths during the protests. She has refuted all charges, labeling the proceedings as "biased and politically motivated".

The decision signifies a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over long-standing suppression. Relatives of the deceased and injured had called for strict sentences.

Reacting to the verdict in a five-page statement, the former leader stated the capital punishment was the temporary leadership's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was satisfied of her administration's performance on human rights.

"I have no trepidation to confront those accusing me in a just legal forum where the facts can be assessed and reviewed impartially."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under enhanced protection ahead of the verdict on Monday, with several of her detractors staging a rally and applauding as the judgment was announced.

The capital witnessed a notable rise in turmoil, with numerous incendiary devices set off and coaches ignited in the period preceding the verdict.

One explosive incident was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, area law enforcement officer the authorities' representative informed press agencies.

The protest movement led by students last year began with demands to abolish public sector reservation policies but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.

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

The report documented the firing at close quarters of certain demonstrators, the deliberate maiming of others, arbitrary arrests and torture.

Disclosed sound files of a telephone conversation involving Hasina authenticated by media examinations during the current year implied she had authorized the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the legal process.

Ahead of the verdict, relatives of those who died in the demonstrations stated to press outlets they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

A family representative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for her and co-accused who have "performed revengeful deeds and exploited their positions".

A different family member, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "executed before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the kin of victims [in the protests] will achieve closure in their minds."

Since Hasina's ousting, an interim government headed by economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A national vote is set for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the her former political organization, her political faction, was prohibited by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

Hasina warned last month that if the her faction's nominees were prohibited from running in the imminent electoral process, countless would abstain the ballot.

This decision presents a international dilemma for the neighboring countries. Authorities have sought her return but so far India has expressed no readiness to agree.

Her officially designated attorney Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "sad [and wishes] the outcome had varied".

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

The previous week, the defense attorneys said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN raising major judicial fairness and due process issues at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial in conjunction with her ex-interior minister and security forces head.

Even though the verdict grants partial finality to kin of victims in the protests, it may not significantly ease the country's political divisions.

"The fury directed at the former leader and the the former ruling faction has not subsided," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka stated to press agencies. "Both she and the organization has said sorry or shown any remorse for the deaths of numerous individuals."

She said "This complicates matters for the organization to receive endorsement by a bulk of the population in this country."

The activist added that the sentence was not finality for the kin of those killed and injured.

"We support multiple individuals who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are now disabled, as a result of the harsh measures. They cannot pardon her."

David Bergman, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it increasingly challenging" for her party to become a normal feature of the nation's political landscape again.

This could alter if "a form of contrition emerges and a distancing from Sheikh Hasina and the old leadership," he stated.