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The country's previous leader has been given a death sentence for atrocities due to her harsh response on student-led protests which caused her ousting.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of allowing lethal force to be used against activists, among whom around 1,400 people died during the turmoil last year.

Legal proceedings were conducted in absentia by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being behind multiple fatalities during the protests. She has refuted every accusation, labeling the proceedings as "biased and politically motivated".

This judgment represents a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over years of repression. Families of those killed and injured had called for severe punishments.

Answering the judgment in a detailed document, she expressed the execution sentence was the caretaker administration's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a political force and that she was proud of her leadership's history on civil liberties.

"I am not afraid to meet my challengers in a just legal forum where the evidence can be weighed and reviewed impartially."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under tightened security prior to the decision on Monday, with several of her detractors staging a rally and applauding as the judgment was announced.

The capital witnessed a recent spike in unrest, with dozens of bombs exploded and buses set on fire in the period preceding the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, regional security representative the police spokesperson stated to media outlets.

The protest movement led by students during 2024 started with requests to remove government job quotas but transformed into a broader opposition campaign.

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 certain demonstrators, the deliberate maiming of further participants, arbitrary arrests and abuse.

Leaked audio of a call made by the former leader authenticated by investigative sources in previous months suggested she had approved the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the proceedings.

Prior to the ruling, family members of those who died in the demonstrations 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 "exemplary punishment" for the former leader and associates who have "committed acts of vengeance and misused their authority".

Another relative, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "executed before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the families of those killed [in the protests] will find peace in their minds."

Following her removal, an interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A parliamentary election is scheduled for February 2026.

However, the Hasina's political party, the former ruling party, was outlawed by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

She alerted last month that if the party's candidates were barred from participating in the upcoming election, millions would boycott the election.

This decision presents a foreign relations issue for India and Bangladesh. Dhaka has formally requested her extradition but so far India has demonstrated no inclination to agree.

The legal representative assigned to her the defense lawyer said he was "disappointed and hoping the outcome had varied".

"I cannot even contest because my defendants are not present; which is why I am disheartened," he added.

Recently, the defense attorneys said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN highlighting significant due process and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Hasina was tried alongside her previous domestic affairs official and security forces head.

Even though the verdict offers some closure to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the country's political divisions.

"The resentment towards the former leader and the the former ruling faction has not subsided," a human rights advocate from the capital told press agencies. "The leader and her faction has said sorry or displayed repentance for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The activist stated "It makes it difficult for the party to be accepted by a most citizens in this nation."

The activist added that the penalty was not resolution for the families of those killed and injured.

"We support multiple individuals who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are currently without limbs, because of the suppression. They are incapable of excusing her."

David Bergman, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation 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.