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The country's previous leader has been sentenced to death for crimes against humanity over her severe measures on youth demonstrations which led to her removal from power.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of permitting fatal actions to be used against activists, among whom around 1,400 people were killed during the unrest during 2024.

The trial proceeded without her presence by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being behind hundreds of killings during the protests. She has refuted every accusation, describing the process as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

This judgment represents a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over years of repression. Families of those killed and harmed had called for strict sentences.

Reacting to the verdict in a five-page statement, the former leader stated the capital punishment was the interim government's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a electoral entity and that she was satisfied of her leadership's history on individual freedoms.

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

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under enhanced protection ahead of the verdict on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina staging a rally and applauding as the judgment was announced.

The city has seen a notable rise in unrest, with numerous incendiary devices set off and buses set on fire in the days leading up to the verdict.

One explosive incident was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, local police official Jisanul Haque told media outlets.

The protest movement led by students last year began with requests to remove state employment quotas but evolved into a more extensive dissent initiative.

International human rights monitors declared in an analysis in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could represent "crimes against humanity".

The study recorded the gunfire from minimal distance of a number of activists, the deliberate maiming of further participants, arbitrary arrests and mistreatment.

Unauthorized recordings of a telephone conversation involving Hasina confirmed by external reviews earlier this year indicated she had approved the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the proceedings.

Ahead of the verdict, relatives of those killed during the protests informed press outlets they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

A family representative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for the former leader and associates who have "committed acts of vengeance and abused their power".

Lucky Akther, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "executed before the election".

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

Following her removal, an temporary leadership headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A general election is scheduled for February 2026.

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

The former leader cautioned during the past month that if the her faction's nominees were barred from participating in the upcoming election, countless would abstain the ballot.

The verdict now poses a foreign relations issue for both nations. Authorities have sought her extradition but so far India has expressed no readiness to acquiesce.

The legal representative assigned to her Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "unhappy and desiring the decision had been otherwise".

"I am unable to challenge because my defendants are not present; that's why I am sad," he stated further.

Recently, the defense attorneys said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN raising major judicial fairness and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Hasina was tried together with 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 anger against Sheikh Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not subsided," 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."

The activist stated "This complicates matters for the party to be accepted by a most citizens in this state."

The campaigner further stated that the penalty was not resolution for the kin of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We assist several people who suffered permanent amputations, they are amputees now, because of the suppression. They will never be able to forgive her."

A journalist, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it even more difficult" for Awami League to become a normal feature of the country's governance system again.

This may change if "a form of contrition emerges and a disassociation with Hasina and the previous administration," he said.