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The country's previous leader has been sentenced to death for crimes against humanity over her crackdown on student-led protests which caused her removal from power.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of permitting fatal actions to be used against protesters, among whom around 1,400 people died during the disturbances during 2024.

Hasina was tried while she was absent by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being the mastermind of numerous deaths during the protests. She has refuted all charges, describing the process as "biased and politically motivated".

This judgment represents a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over extended periods of oppression. Relatives of the deceased and wounded had demanded strict sentences.

Reacting to the verdict in a comprehensive declaration, she expressed the death penalty was the caretaker administration's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a political force and that she was satisfied of her leadership's history on human rights.

"I have no trepidation to meet my challengers in a just legal forum where the facts can be assessed and tested fairly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under increased safeguards ahead of the ruling on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics staging a rally and celebrating as the judgment was announced.

Dhaka experienced a recent spike in disturbances, with numerous incendiary devices set off and public transport vehicles burned in the time before the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, area law enforcement officer the police spokesperson informed news organizations.

The protest movement led by students in the previous year began with requests to remove public sector reservation policies but morphed into a broader opposition campaign.

United Nations rights examiners declared in an analysis in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could amount to "human rights atrocities".

The study recorded the firing at close quarters of some protesters, the intentional injuring of additional individuals, unjustified apprehensions and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader verified by external reviews during the current year suggested she had sanctioned the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the proceedings.

Prior to the ruling, relatives of those who died in the demonstrations told news agencies they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

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 "performed revengeful deeds and misused their authority".

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

"Solely at that point the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will find peace in their minds."

After her departure, an interim government led by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A national vote is planned for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the Awami League, Hasina's political party, was prohibited by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

She alerted last month that if the party's candidates were barred from participating in the forthcoming vote, numerous would avoid the ballot.

This decision presents a diplomatic challenge for the neighboring countries. Dhaka has formally requested her repatriation but until now India has shown no willingness to comply.

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 clients are absent; for that reason I am disappointed," he added.

Recently, her legal team said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN raising serious fair trial and due process issues at the ICT.

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

While the sentence grants partial finality to families of killed in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the country's political divisions.

"The anger against Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not diminished," a Dhaka-based rights activist stated to media outlets. "The leader and her faction has apologised or shown any remorse for the deaths of numerous individuals."

She said "This complicates matters for the organization to receive endorsement by a majority of people in this country."

The activist added that the sentence was not resolution for the families of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We assist several people who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are amputees now, as a result of the harsh measures. They are incapable of excusing her."

David Bergman, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it increasingly challenging" for the political faction to become a regular participant of the country's governance system again.

This might transform if "an expression of regret occurs and a distancing from Sheikh Hasina and the old leadership," he expressed.