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The country's previous leader has been given a death sentence for crimes against humanity due to her harsh response on youth demonstrations which led to her forced departure.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of allowing lethal force to be used against demonstrators, 1,400 of whom lost their lives during the turmoil in the previous year.

The trial proceeded in absentia by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India following her ouster in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being responsible for multiple fatalities during the protests. Hasina has denied all charges, describing the process as "biased and politically motivated".

The decision signifies a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over extended periods of oppression. Families of those killed and wounded had requested strict sentences.

Answering the judgment in a comprehensive declaration, she expressed the capital punishment was the temporary leadership's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a political force and that she was content of her leadership's history on civil liberties.

"I am not afraid to face my accusers in a proper tribunal where the evidence can be weighed and reviewed impartially."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under enhanced protection before the verdict on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina staging a rally and celebrating as the judgment was announced.

Dhaka experienced a notable rise in unrest, with numerous incendiary devices set off and buses set on fire in the time before the verdict.

One explosive incident was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, local police official the police spokesperson stated to news organizations.

The protest movement led by students in the previous year began with requests to remove government job quotas but evolved into a wider anti-government movement.

United Nations rights examiners stated in a document in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could amount to "crimes against humanity".

The report documented the gunfire from minimal distance of certain demonstrators, the purposeful disabling of additional individuals, unjustified apprehensions and mistreatment.

Disclosed sound files of a call made by the former leader authenticated by media examinations during the current year suggested she had approved the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the proceedings.

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

One relative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for Hasina and others who have "committed acts of vengeance and misused their authority".

Lucky Akther, whose spouse died 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 interim government headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A national vote is scheduled for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the Hasina's political party, her political faction, was banned by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

The former leader cautioned last month that if the her faction's nominees were prohibited from running in the forthcoming vote, millions would boycott the ballot.

The judgment creates a diplomatic challenge for the neighboring countries. Dhaka has formally requested her repatriation but until now India has shown no willingness to acquiesce.

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

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

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

The former leader faced trial alongside her ex-interior minister and police chief.

Even though the verdict grants partial finality to kin of victims 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 diminished," a human rights advocate from the capital stated to press agencies. "The leader and her faction has expressed regret or shown any remorse for the killings of hundreds of people."

She said "It makes it difficult for the organization to receive endorsement by a majority of people in this country."

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

"We work with multiple individuals who suffered permanent amputations, they are currently without limbs, as a result of the harsh measures. They are incapable of excusing her."

An analyst, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it even more difficult" for her party to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.

This might transform if "a form of contrition emerges and a distancing from Hasina and the former hierarchy," he expressed.