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The country's previous leader has been sentenced to death for atrocities stemming from her crackdown on youth demonstrations which caused her ousting.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of permitting fatal actions to be used against protesters, 1,400 of whom were killed during the disturbances in the previous year.

Hasina was tried without her presence by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being the mastermind of multiple fatalities during the protests. The former leader rejected every accusation, calling the trial as "biased and politically motivated".

This judgment represents a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over extended periods of oppression. Next of kin of victims and injured had called for tough penalties.

Reacting to the verdict in a comprehensive declaration, the former leader stated the capital punishment was the temporary leadership's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was satisfied of her government's record on individual freedoms.

"I have no trepidation to face my accusers in a fair court where the facts can be assessed and examined justly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under increased safeguards ahead of the decision on Monday, with several of her detractors staging a rally and cheering as the verdict was read.

The city has seen a recent spike in disturbances, with multiple explosives detonated and public transport vehicles burned in the time before the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, regional security representative the authorities' representative stated to media outlets.

The protest movement led by students in the previous year commenced through demands to abolish state employment quotas but transformed into a wider anti-government movement.

International human rights monitors stated in a document in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could constitute "human rights atrocities".

The report documented the firing at close quarters of some protesters, the purposeful disabling of additional individuals, unwarranted detentions and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of a telephone conversation involving Hasina verified by media examinations in previous months suggested she had authorized the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the legal process.

Ahead of the verdict, relatives of those who died in the demonstrations stated to press outlets they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

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".

Another relative, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "carried out before the election".

"Only then the kin of victims [in the protests] will obtain solace in their hearts."

Following her removal, an interim government led by economist Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A general election is planned for February 2026.

However, the her former political organization, the former ruling party, was banned by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

She alerted during the past month that if the party's candidates were banned from standing in the forthcoming vote, millions would boycott the ballot.

The judgment creates a foreign relations issue for India and Bangladesh. The Bangladesh government has asked her extradition but so far India has shown no willingness to acquiesce.

Her officially designated attorney the defense lawyer said he was "sad [and wishes] the outcome had varied".

"I am unable to challenge because my clients are absent; which is why I am sad," he added.

Recently, her legal team said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN raising significant due process and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina in conjunction with her ex-interior minister and police chief.

Although the punishment provides certain resolution to kin of victims in the protests, it may not significantly ease the state's ideological splits.

"The fury directed at the former leader and the her political party has not diminished," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka told news organizations. "The leader and her faction has said sorry or displayed repentance for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The activist stated "This creates challenges for the organization to receive endorsement by a majority of people in this state."

The advocate continued that the penalty was not resolution for the families of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We assist numerous persons who suffered permanent amputations, they are amputees now, due to the crackdown. They are incapable of excusing her."

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

This could alter if "an expression of regret occurs and a distancing from Hasina and the former hierarchy," he said.