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The country's previous leader has been sentenced to death for atrocities over her harsh response on youth demonstrations which resulted in her removal from power.

Hasina was declared culpable of allowing lethal force to be used against protesters, among whom around 1,400 people died during the turmoil in the previous year.

The trial proceeded while she was absent by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being responsible for multiple fatalities during the protests. The former leader rejected every accusation, labeling the proceedings as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The verdict marks a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over long-standing suppression. Families of those killed and injured had requested strict sentences.

Responding to the decision in a detailed document, Hasina said the death penalty was the interim government's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a political force and that she was satisfied of her government's record on individual freedoms.

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

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under tightened security ahead of the verdict on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics holding a protest and cheering as the judgment was announced.

Dhaka experienced a notable rise in disturbances, with multiple explosives detonated and buses set on fire in the time before the verdict.

One explosive incident was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, local police official Jisanul Haque told press agencies.

The student-led uprising last year commenced through demands to abolish public sector reservation policies but transformed into a wider anti-government movement.

United Nations rights examiners stated in a document in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could constitute "human rights atrocities".

The report documented the firing at close quarters of a number of activists, the intentional injuring of others, unwarranted detentions and abuse.

Disclosed sound files of one of Hasina's phone calls authenticated by external reviews earlier this year suggested she had approved the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the proceedings.

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

Ramjan Ali, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for Hasina and others who have "committed acts of vengeance and exploited their positions".

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

"Exclusively thereafter the kin of victims [in the protests] will find peace in their minds."

After her departure, an caretaker administration headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A general election is set for February 2026.

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

She alerted during the past month that if the the League's representatives were banned from standing in the upcoming election, numerous would avoid the ballot.

This decision presents a foreign relations issue for the neighboring countries. The Bangladesh government has asked her return but until now India has demonstrated no inclination to agree.

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

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

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

Hasina was tried alongside her former home minister and police chief.

While the sentence provides certain resolution to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may not significantly ease the nation's partisan rifts.

"The resentment towards Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League has not subsided," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka told press agencies. "The leader and her faction has expressed regret or displayed repentance for the killings of hundreds of people."

The advocate declared "It makes it difficult for the party to be accepted by a bulk of the population in this state."

The activist added that the penalty was not finality for the relatives of those who died and were wounded.

"We support several people who lost their limbs forever, they are amputees now, due to the crackdown. They will never be able to forgive her."

David Bergman, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it particularly hard" for her party to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.

This may change if "an expression of regret occurs and a disassociation with Sheikh Hasina and the old leadership," he stated.