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The country's previous leader has been given a death sentence for human rights violations due to her harsh response on youth demonstrations which caused her ousting.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of authorizing deadly measures to be used against activists, 1,400 of whom lost their lives during the disturbances in the previous year.

The trial proceeded without her presence by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being responsible for multiple fatalities during the protests. She has refuted every accusation, labeling the proceedings as "biased and politically motivated".

This judgment represents a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over extended periods of oppression. Next of kin of victims and wounded had called for severe punishments.

Reacting to the verdict in a comprehensive declaration, the former leader stated the death penalty was the temporary leadership's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a political force and that she was proud of her administration's performance on civil liberties.

"I am not afraid to confront those accusing me in a proper tribunal where the proof can be evaluated and examined justly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under tightened security prior to the verdict on Monday, with several of her detractors holding a protest and applauding as the sentence was declared.

The capital witnessed a sudden increase in turmoil, with numerous incendiary devices set off and public transport vehicles burned in the period preceding the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, regional security representative the police spokesperson told media outlets.

The student-led uprising last year started with demands to abolish state employment quotas but evolved into a wider anti-government movement.

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

The report documented the shooting at point-blank range of certain demonstrators, the intentional injuring of additional individuals, unjustified apprehensions and mistreatment.

Disclosed sound files of a call made by the former leader confirmed by investigative sources earlier this year implied she had authorized the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the legal process.

Prior to the ruling, family members of those who died in the demonstrations stated to press outlets they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

A family representative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for the former leader and associates who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and misused their authority".

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 families of those killed [in the protests] will obtain solace in their hearts."

Since Hasina's ousting, an temporary leadership led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A general election is planned for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the her former political organization, the former ruling party, was outlawed by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

She alerted in the previous month that if the the League's representatives were barred from participating in the imminent electoral process, countless would abstain the vote.

This decision presents a international dilemma for the neighboring countries. The Bangladesh government has asked her extradition but until now India has expressed no readiness to agree.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "sad [and wishes] the outcome had varied".

"I even cannot appeal because my defendants are not present; for that reason I am disheartened," he continued.

Recently, Hasina's lawyers said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN raising significant due process and due process issues at the ICT.

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

Although the punishment grants partial finality to kin of victims in the protests, it may not significantly ease the nation's partisan rifts.

"The anger against Hasina and the Awami League has not diminished," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka informed media outlets. "Neither she nor the party has expressed regret or displayed repentance for the fatalities of countless citizens."

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

The advocate continued that the sentence was not resolution for the kin of those killed and injured.

"We support numerous persons who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are amputees now, as a result of the harsh measures. They will never be able to forgive her."

David Bergman, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it even more difficult" for her party to become a normal feature of the nation's political landscape again.

This could alter if "an expression of regret occurs and a separation from Sheikh Hasina and the previous administration," he said.